ffni.fjag.ififJl*Hi.fi • (\ /'■■ 7 f - 1 1 ' ■ - f. i , ■' ■ . j; \ ■ ' i '■-. '.■■■■'' -■' V H >■ / 1 !,'■■. ' ■ k > ■''' mm ." .' ; 1 i ' ■ i t ■ ■ 1 ■■: ^ A ^ THE pi^tai^ial ^iiii#iiiti$ OF ANIMATED NATURE. VOLUME 11. BIRDS. REPTILES. MOLLUSCA. INSECTS. LONDON:. G. COX, 18, KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN. PRICE EIGHTEEN SHILLINGS BOUND IN CLOTH. London : Printed by William Ci'OWBa, and Sons, Stamford Street COIfTENTS OF VOLUME IL Frontispiece — The Boa Constrictor. BIRD S — continued. D«)criptiona. PigM. fetraonidoe (Grouse and Partridges) . . . .' . 1 — 4 Cracidae (Curassows) 6 — Megapodid% (Megapodes) 6 — 7 Struthionidie (Ostriches) 8 — 11 Apteryx 11—12 Dodo 18—14 Bustards 15 — CharadriadsB (Plovers) 16—23 RecurvirostridsB (Avocets) 23 — 26 Phalaropidse (Phalaropes) 26 — Rallidse (Coots, Rails, &c.) . .- . . . • . 26—28 Palamedeidae (Jacanas) 29 — 30 Gruidae (Cranes, Herons, &c.) 30 — 36 Plataleidae (Spoonbills) 37—38 Phoenicopteridae (Flamingoes) ...... 38—39 Natatores 39 — Anatidae (Swans, Ducks, Geese, &c.) .... 39 — 54 Colymbidae (Divers, Grebes, &c.) 54 — 56 Alcadee (Auks, Guillemots, and Puffins) . . . 57 — 59 SpheniscidsE (Penguins) 59—62 Procellaridaj (Puffins, Petrels, &c.) .... 62—63 Uridae (Gulls, Terns, &c.) 63-66 Pelecanidae (Pelicans, Cormorants, &c.). . . 66 — 71 Additional specimens of Birds, &c 71 — REPTILES. Chelonia, or Tortoises 73 — 79 Sauria (Lizards, Crocodiles, &c.) 79 — 103 Ophidia (SerpenU) 103—107 Col ubridae (Colubrine Snakes) 107—114 Poisonous Snakes 114-^123 Marine Snakes . 123 — Snakes, various 123 — Amphibia 123—135 FISHES. Fishes, general observations upon 138 — 139 Acanthopterygious Fishes 139 — 150 Malacopterygious Fishes 150 — 172 Cartilaginous Fishes 175 — Illustrations. Nos. 1773—1780 1781—1785 1786—1793 1794—1813 1814—1816 1817—1824 1825—1830 1831—1866 1867—1871 1872—1874 1875—1881 1882—1888 1889—1926 1927—1929 1930—1936 1937 1938—2014 2015-2018 2019—2029 2030—2035 2036—2046 2047—2058 2059—2078 2079—2087 2088—2116 2117—2238 2239—2248 2249—2272 2273-2307 2308—2309 2310—2313 2314—2369 2370—2377 2378—2417 2418—2496 2497—2505 MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS. OR HETERO- GANGLIATA. Cuttle-fishes 177—187 2506—2585 Pteropods 187—191 2586—2594 Gastropods (as Slugs and Univalve Shells) . . 191—194 — — Descriptima. Pwm. Pulmonobranchiata 194—199 Nudibranchiata 199 — 206 Inferobranchiata . • 206 — Tectibranchiata 206—210 Heteropoda 210 — Pectinibranchiata 210—243 Tubulibranchiata . . . ^ 243—246 Scutibranchiata 246—247 Cyclobranchiata 247—251 Conchifera (Bivalve-shelled MoUusks) . . . 251-287 Tunicata (Tunicate MoUusks) 289—291 Brachiopoda 291 — Cirrhopoda 291—298 [11n«tnt*inna. No.. 2595—2634 2636—2649 2650—2651 2652—2674 2675—2678 2679—2815 2816—2821 2822—2836 2837—2858 2859—3030 3031—3047 3048—3065 3066—3033 ARTICULATA, CUV. (HOMOGANGLIATA. Owen). Crustacea, observations on 298—302 3094—3103 Decapoda, Brachyurous 302—314 3104—3189 Decapoda, Anomurous 314—316 3190—3207 Decapoda, Macrurous 317—322 3208—3229 Stomopoda 322—323 3230—3240 Amphipoda 323 — 3241—3245 Laemodipoda 323 — 3246—3247 Isopoda 323—326 3248—3274 Entomostraca 326—327 3275-3287 Xiphosura 327—328 3288—3289 Arachnidae (Spiders and Scorpions) .... 329—332 3290-3328 Insecta (Insects) 333—397 3329—3754 Myriapoda 398—399 3755—3757 Annelida 399—402 3758—3762 NEMATONEURA. Echinodermata 402-406 3763— .3781 Coelelmintha 406 — 3782—3783 Rotifera 406-407 3784—3786 Bryozoa 407 — 3787—3811 A C R I T A. Sponges, Zoophytes, Corals, Actiniae . . . 407 — 418 Polygastrica 418 — 419 AcalephiB 419^423 Sterelraintha 423—425 Arrangement of Animal Kingdom 426 — 3812-3860 3861—3864 3865—3904 3906 — >5^^ .'>i ^fff 1772. — Virginian Quail. 1771.— Hock Quail. IT7J.— Paltriiige., 1768.— Pin-tailed Sand-<3 rouse. 1769.— Throat-banded Sand-Grouse. Male and Female. No. 51. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] PICTORIAL MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 17C5. 1766.-Th« Ptarmigan {Ltiijopui mutut). Gclinote blanche, TAttaees blaiic, orthc French; Pertiice, alpestre and I^gopo biniicu of the Italians; Schiieehuhn and Hassen- tiis^it;e Waldhiilui of the Geinian*; Rype of the Norwegians; Uiiipkaiie (male) tlic Kitipa (female) oflhe Ii-elanders ; Tarinaclian ofihe Ilii^lilandGael ; Coiiar vr Aiban cf the Welsh. In this genus the legs ana toes are complete!}' clothed with hair-like feathers to the very claws, and in winter so thick and deep does this rovi>ring become, as to give to the leg the ai>|>earancc of a "hare's foot." Small closely-set feathers also invest the buse of the beak, which increase, dnrins; the colder season, till little more than the point of the latter is visible. A naked skin rises above each eje. The Itarmi^an is a native of the dreary mountain regions of the north of Europe, the Alpine districts of central Europe, and the northern parts of America, including the islands lying to the sotilh-west of Baffin's Bay. It is found in the British Islands, being common on the Grampians, where great granite and slaty masses afToid it concealment. It is found also in tolerable abundance on the elevated summits of the mountains in the norih of Scotland, and the adjacent islands. Mountuin berries and heath-shoots in summer, buds and leaves in winter, constitute the food of the ptarmigan ; and at this season the binls are ollen obliged to burroiv under the snow, partly perhaps for shelter, but principally in quest of food. Alter the breeding-seasim the various young coveys and their parents associate in lari;e flocks, consisting of forty or fifly individuals, which separate info pairs early in the spring. The nest, if it desei ve the name, consists of a few twij^s and stalks of ?rass, loosely arranged in a slight depression on the giound; the eegs, fourteen or fifteen in number, are ofa pale reddish white, spotted with dark brown. The young run about as soon as they leave the shell, and are quite on the alert, concealinsr themselves with great skill on the ap- pearance of danger. The alarm-call of the ptarmi- gan is a strange croaking cry, and so well do the mingled colours of these birds blend with the frag- ments of out-cropping rock, weather-stained and covered by many tinted lichens and mosses, that a person may pass very near a covey without per- ceiving them, unless one utters his call, or they rise 8udde:ily upon the wing. One of the most remarkable facts connected with the history of this species is its change from a rich and spotted livery, its summer dress, to one of pure white. In spring, for example, the plumage is varied with black and deep reddish yellow, the quill- feathers being white with black shafts. Towards autumn the yellow gives place to greyish white, and the black spots become irregularly broken, till at last they disappear, the plumage whitening to the purity of snow. At the same time it acquires gre.iter fulness ; and the legs and feet are so densely clad as to resemble those of a hare. As spring returns, the ptarmigan beginstolose the pure white of his plumage, and regain his summer dress. Of the number of ptarmigans imported during the latter part of the winter and early in the spring from Norway, Sweden, &c., to the London market, few persons have any idea. "On one occasion," says Mr. Yarrell, " late in the spring of 183t), one party shipped six thousand ptarmigans for London, two thousand for Hull, and two thousand for Liver- pool ; and at the end of February or very early in March of the year 1840, one salesman in Leadenhall Market received tifleen thousand ptarmigan that had been consigned to him, and during the same week another salesman received seven hundred capercaillies, and tive hundred and sixty black grouse." From Drannen, in Norway, in 18,39, two thousand dozen of ptarmigans were exported in one ship for Ijonion. Si.xty thousand have been killed in a single parish during the course of the winter. The total of these birds destroyed throughout Norway and Sweden every season, we do not know, but it must be enormous. With respect to the red grouse (Lagopus Scoticus) it is exclusively peculiar to the British Islands, being found in no part of the Continent. This beautiful and valued bird is common on the high moorland districts of the northern counties of England, Scot- land, Wale.*, and Ireland, where the heath affords it shelter and concealment. During the autumn and winter it associates in flocks or packs, which are often wild and shy, and not easily approached. Early in the spring the sexes pair ; the female lays her eggs in March, making a rude nest of sprigs of heath and grass upon the trround, imder the shelter ofa tuft of heath or of the bilberry plant (Vaccinium Myrtillus). The young are strong on the wing by August. The male takes no part in the labour of incubation, but joins the female and the young brood as soon as hatched, and is as attentive to the later as the female parent. The red giouse feeds upon the tender snoots of heatli, on bilbenies, whortleberries, and the berries of other species of Vaccinium, and also uuon oats, fur which it will visit the stubble lands bordeiing the moors. Its flighty is rapid and po'.verful. The plumage of the red grouse is very rich, the general tint being deep chestnut, diversified with zigzag bars and dots of black ; the legs and toes are thickly clad with hair-like feathers, and a bright scarlet fringed skin, largest in the male, surmounts the eye. 17C7, 1768. — Thk Pin-tailkd Sand-Gbousk (Pteiocle^ selarius). The sand-grouse are natives of the sandy ]ilains and rocky deserts of Africa, Asia, and the southern districts of Europe. They are distinguished by long pointed wings, and a conical form of tail, the two middle tail-feathers heine in some species much elongated. Birds of powerful and rapid flight, they love to wander from place to place, sweeping over the hot and arid solitudes in which they find a congenial abode. Some are giegarious, associating in vast flocks, others live in pairs ; the prevailing tints of their plumage are grey, sandy, yellow chestnut, olive, and black. The pin-tailed sand-grouse is found in the south of .Spain, the north of Al'iica, and the deserts of i Arabia and Syria. The stony districts of the country i beyond .Jordan s.varm with these birds, there called Katla. Near Boszra, says Burckhardt, 'the quantity of Kattas is beyond description ; the whole plain i seemed sometimes to rise ; and far off'in the air they ; were seen like large moving clouds." In the moun- j tains of Edom their numbers are equally great, and so dense are the flocks that the Arab boys often kill ; two or three at a time by merely throwing a slick ' aninng them. According to Russell they are com- mon at all seasons, but most abound in May and June, when, even in northern Syria, a quantity sufii- [ cient to load an a.ss may sometimes be taken at one shutting of the clasp-net. Their flesh is dry, black, and hard, but is nevertheless relished by the Turks, ' though it is never seen at the tables of the Franks. This bird lays two or three eggs, of a greenish black colour, and about the size of those ofa pigeon. They are placed on the dry ground without any nest. The Arabs collect them in large quantities-, and eat them fried in butter. Burckhardt suggests that this bird is the quail (Selay) of the ancient Is.-aelites, and Hassclqiiist was of the same opinion. The pin- tailed grouse is distinguished by a broad band of deep chestnut, edged with a line of black across the chest ; the upper surface is elegantly varied by alternate bars of yellow, black, and silvery grey ; the two central tail-feathers are elongated into slender points. Size, that of a partridge. 17G9. — The Throat-banded Sand-Grouse {Plerocles gutliiralis, Smith). Male and Female. This species was discovered by Dr. A. Smith, in South Africa, about eighty miles to the eastward of Latakoo. In common with the other South African species of this genus, it repairs in large flocks, at regular periods, to localities where water is, and when approaching or retiring from such spots, which it does with singular rapidity and suddenness, it utters cries resembling the syllables twet iceet, ttvet-iveet. Though these birds crowd in flocks to the water, they are not truly gregarious, but disperse themselves in pairs over the feeding-grounds, whence they take flight at ten in the morning and three in the after- noon to the water ; the margins of the pools which they frequent being at those times crowded by hun- dreds struggling to obtain their refreshment. Dr. Smith found grass seeds, ants, and gravel in the stomachs of most of the individuals he procured. The female deposits her eggs, two or three in num- ber, on the bare ground ; they are of a dirty white or cream colour, with irregular streaks and blotches of pale rust colour and grey. Almost as soon as the young escape from the shell they take to a wan- dering life, and remove from place to place with the parent birds in search of food. The present species is about twelve inches in length ; the male has a dark brown crescent mark across the throat, which is wanting in the female. For minute details see Dr. Smith's 'Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.' He enumerates four other species as peculiar to South Africa, and many more natives of Northern Africa, Senegal, &c. 1770.— The Common Partridge (Perdix cineren). Perdris, Perdris griso, ou des Champs, of the French ; Perdice, Pernisette, Perni- gona, and Staraa of the Italians ; Rebhun of the Germans ; Coriar of the ancient British ; Pcrtrisen of the modern Welsh. The Common Partridge is too well known to require minute description : it appears to be confined within the boundries of Europe, everywhere frequent- ing cultivated districts and rich corn-lands ; hence its increase is encouraged by the converoion of heath, moorland, and wood into fields of waving grain. The pairing time of these birds is about the begin- ning of February, at which season the males engage in desperate conflicts, and as they are more numerous than the females, the successful combatant in one battle has often to renew the strife with other rivals. The female produces her eggs about the latter part of May or beginning of June, depositing them in a rough nest or shallow depression of the ground, in a corn-field or clover-field, under a tuft of glass in a meadow, or amongst whin bushes. They vary from twelve to twenty in number, and are of a greenish ash colour. .So close does the female sit and so unmoved is she by apprehension of danger, that she frequently falls a victim to the mower's scythe while brooding over her nest. The young, after three week's incubation, are hatched in June, or from the beginning to the middle of July ; and the male immediately joins his mate in the care of the young brood. From the earliest times the par- tridge has been celebrated for the various artifices employed to draw oft" the attention of men and dogs from the young, which at the warning call of their parents have dispersed, and lie cowering in the grass or amidst the standing corn ; nor is this all, — they «ill tight resolutely in defence of their brood, and have been known to engage in combat with the kite and the crow, and accomplish their object. The feeTvl of Aristotle; Coturnix of the Latins; Quaglia of the modern Italians; Caille of the French; and Wachtel of the Germans) is known over the greater part of the old woild, and is a summer visitant, though not in great numbers, to our island. In Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the quail may be regarded as stationary, flocks or bevis remaining during the winter, but increased every spring by an accession of visitoi-s from the parched plains of Africa, the winter asylum of myriads which make Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia their annual summer residence. In India we believe the quail is not migratory. During their periodical flights between Europe and Africa, and vice versH, the shores and islands of the Mediterranean are replete with myriads. Sicily swarms with them— their autumnal arrival is looked forward to with great anxiety, and they are shot and captured by wholesale. On the coasts of the kingdom of Naples a hundred thousand have been destroyed in one day. According to Baron de Tott, no country abounds in quails more than the Crimea. During the summer these birds are dis- persed over the country, "but assemble at the approach of autumn, and cross the Black Sea to the southern coa,sts, whence they afterwards trans- port themselves into a warmer climate. The order of this emigration is invariable: toward the end of August, in a serene day, when the wind blows fiotn the north at sunset, and promises a fine night, they Quails.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. repair to the strand, take their departure at six or seven in the evening, and have finished a jour- ney of fifty leajues by break of day." Nets are spread on the opposite shore, and persons are assembled to capture the birds exhausted by their fliglit. The migrrations of the quail have in fact been noticed by the ancients, from Aristotle to Pliny ; and the latter asserts that, blown by adverse winds out of their course, whole flocks are often swept into tlie sea, and that sometimes they settle on vessels in such numbers as to cause their siiikina;. " Advolant .... non sine periculo navigantium cum appropinquavere terris, quippe velis saepe insident, et semper noctu, mergunlque navigia." (Plin. ' Hist. Nat.' lib. X.) Ilasselquist states that in Egypt amazing flocks of these birds arrive in the month of March, when the wheat ripens there, and are caught in thousands by means of nets. The flesh of the quail is very delicate. Our London markets are supplied .principally from France, and thousands are there captured by means of a quail-pipe which imitates their call ; but, as M'r. Selby observes, "by this device males only are taken, which may account for the few female speci- mens found amongst the many hundreds kept in confinement by the London poulterers." We may add that the males precede the arrival of the females by a few days. According to Pliny, the Romans entertained a prejudice against the flesh of these birds, in conse- quence of their feeding on the grains of the helle- bore, and their being subject to epilepsy. Other nations, however, do not seem to have partaken of this prejudice. The quail is polygamous ; the nest consists merely of a few dried stalks in some convenient receptacle on the ground, gene- rally in a field of wheat ; the eegs are from twelve to eighteen in number, of a light greenish hue, blotched with brown. The pugnacious habits of the quail are well known : " As quarrelsome as quails in a cage," was an ancient saying. The males fight with the spirit and resolution of game-cocks; lience the Greeks and Romans kept them for the purpose of fighting, and the same practice prevails in China and India at the present day. The colours of the quail are very pleasing, being a mixture of black, chestnut, yellow, and white ; the markings vary in intensity, but the males are always characterized by a black border round the throat, v.hich is wanting in the female. Length seven inches and a half. 177L— The Rock-Qu.\il (Coturnix Aigoondah). This species, described by Colonel Sykes, is a native of the Dukhun. It feeds principally upon grass seeds, which were exclusively found in the stomachs of the birds Colonel Sykes obtained. He states that they do not frequent cul- tivated lands, but aie found all over the Dukhun on the general level of the country, amidst rocks and low bushes, and that they rise in coveys of from ten to twenty or more, from under the feet, with start- ling suddenness and bustle, so that the young sports- man is perplexed in selecting his bird. They are gregarious, and probably polygamous ; Colonel Sykes never saw them solitary or in pairs. The flesh is white. This species is used by the natives for quail- fights. General colour above rufous brown with narrow ferruginous bars ; under parts dirty white with black bars ; forehead ferruginous; a stripe over the eye reddiah white. Length six inches and a half. 1772.— The Viroini.\n Quail (0;Vyr Virginiann). The genus Ortyx, character- ized by a peculiarly short, high, thick bill, is the American representative of the genus Coturnix of the Old World. „ , , According to Wilson, the Virginian or Maryland quail is a general inhabitant of North America, from the northern parts of Canada to the extremity of Florida; and is numerous in Kentucky and Ohio. It frequents the vicinity of cultivated lands where grain is in plentv ; and though the coveys sometimes take shelter in 'woods or among brushes, they are most usually found in the open lields or along fences of biiars. Where not much persecuted by sportsmen, they become almost half domesticated, and in winter approach the farm-yard, mixing with the poultry, and there gleaning their subsistence. It would appear, indeed, that with little trouble this species might be domesticated. The Virginian quail beirius to build early in May, making a thick nest of leaves and dried grass, under a lull of grass that shelters and conceals it ; it is domed, and has a lateral entrance. The eggs are from ten to eighteen, and of a p\ire white ; llie male at times assists in hatching them. The young run about as soon as liberated, and follow their parents until spring. These birds roost at night in the middle of a field on the glass, the covey forming a circle, with their heads outwards ; an arrangement which enables them both to prevent surprise, and to take wing and scatter asunder when alarmed. Vol. II. The usual cry of this bird is a clear whistle, but the call of the male in the pairing season consists of three distinct notes, sounding like the words " Ah, Bob White;' the first note a kind of aspiration, the two last loud and clear. In the middle of April the male may he seen perched on a fence-stake or some low branch, uttering his call for hours : should he hear the note of a female, he sails directly towards the spot whence it proceeded ; but it often happens that the call of a rival at a little distance sounds a challenge — hence obstinate combats often take place. The gun, the net, various traps and devices thin the numbers of the Virginian quail or partridge, its flesh being held in high estimation ; it is also kept in coops or cages, and soon becomes very fat. Its ordinary food consists of grain and berries, but it feeds on ants and various insects. .'According to Audubon, flocks of this species in October perform occasional migrations from the north-west to the south-east, somewhat in the manner of the wild turkey. This species has the bill black ; line over the eye, down the neck, and whole chin pure white, bounded by a descending band of black, which spreads broadly over the throat; eye dark hazel; crown, neck, and upper part of the breast red brown; sides of the neck spotted with white and black on a red- dish brown ground ; back, scapulars, and lesser co- verts red brown, intermixed with ash and sprinkled with black ; tertials edged with yellowish white ; wings plain dusky ; lower part of the breast and belly pale yellowish white, beautifully marked with numerous curving spots or arrow-heads of black ; tail ash, sprinkled with reddish brown; legs very pale ash. Length nine inches; extent fourteen (male). The female differs in having the chin and sides of the head yellowish brown. (Wilson.) 1773. — The Californian Partridge {Ortyx Cahfornica). Lophortyx Californica, Bona- parte. This beautiful species is common in the low woods and plains of California, where it was discovered by the unfortunate La Perouse, and, according to the editor of his voyage, was found in flocks of two or three hundred; the birds were fat and well fla- voured. Several living specimens were procured by Captain Heechey, with a view of being brought to England, where it was hoped the species might be naturalized, but unfortunately the plan was de- feated by the death of the females on the passage. The males were presented to the Zoological Society, and one of them lived for a considerable time (1833). For some observations on the genus Ortyx by Mr. Vigors, and descriptions of several species, see 'Zool. Proceeds.' 1830, p. 3. Specimens of the Californian partridge or quail had, however, been previously brought to England by Mr. A. Menzies, who accompanied Vancouver in his expedition round the world, and were described by Shaw and Latham. In manners these birds closely resemble the par- tridge or quail, but hold themselves more erect ; the graceful crest on the head adding much to their appearance. The general plumage is of a dusky slate colour ; the crest, which is bent forwards, is black, as is also the throat, encircled by a belt of white. The feathers at the back of the neck are small and triangular, of a slaty hue, with a narrow black margin and white tip. The leathers of the sides and under surface are of a dull reddish white margined with crescents of black. The female has but little crest, and the general tone of colouring is browner and more obscure. The figure is stout; length about nine inches. 1774.— The Taigoor Qiiaii, (Hemipoflius Taiqoor, Sykes). The genus Hemi- podius (Turnix, lion. ; Tridactylus, Lacep. ; Ortygis, 111.) has the bill moderate, slender, straight, much compressed, and curved at the point ; the tarsi are moderate ; the hind toe is wanting. The tail shoit and composed of weak feathers ; wings moderate. Geographical distribution, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia. The Taigoor quail was met with by Colonel Sykes in the Dukhun, and closely resembles the female of the H. pugnax, but is a truly distinct species: of its habits nothing definitely is stated, most probably they resemble those of the H. pugnax, or Bustard-quail, respecting which Colonel Sykes savs that it lives solitary or in pairs, and is mostly foiind in Chillee-fields (Capsicum annuum). The colouring of the Taigoor quail is as follows:— plu- mage above chestnut, the feathers margined with straw yellow, and barred with black ; quills brown ; throat white ; breast barred black and white ; under parts pale ferruginous. Length nearly seven inches. 177,^.— The Kurrichane Quail (Hemipndhts Lepurana, Smith). This species is a na- tive of South Africa, where it was discovered by Dr. A Smith, who states that few specimens only were obtained, and these not until the expedition had reached the country north of Latakoo. '• The gras.sy valleys south-east of Kurrichane were the only lo- calities in which they were discovered, and even there they appeared to be but thinly scattered, for more than a single individual was seldom found in or even near the same place. When the birds were disturbed, they seldom flew far before they alighted, upon which they continued their retreat, since none of those flushed a second time were ever found near the spots where they had been marked down." The food consists of seeds and small insects, with which a considerable quantity of fine gravel is swallowed. The general colour is mingled rufous and chestnut, variegated, spotted and barred with dark brown, black, and white. For long detailed descriptions, see Dr. A. Smith's 'Zool. of South Africa.' 1776. — The Ferruginous and Grey Francolin- {Fraucoliitus Ponticerianm)i In the genus Fran- colinus the bill is stout, of moderate size, convex above ; the feet are naked and four-toed, and the tarsi of the male are armed with strong blunt spurs. The species are spread through Europe, Asia, and Africa. They inhabit the forests, perch on trees, feed on berries, seeds, the tender tops of herbs, and also on bulbous roots. One species (Franco!inu.s vulgaris) inhabits the southern parts of Europe, the north of Africa, and a great portion of the Asiatic continent, as Persia, Bengal, and the Himalaya Mountains. The Francolinus Ponticerianus is a native of India, and called Teetur by the Maihattas. In the Dukhun, according to Colonel Sykes, it is one of the most common birds, and is called partridge : it fre- quents gardens and cultivated lands. In the Ghauts it is not met with, unless in «ell cultivated valleys, and not at all on the mountains. It roosts on trees ; and Colonel Sykes has on more than one occasion shot these birds on trees during the daytime — but this is a rare occurrence. Length fouileen inches. (' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1832, p. 1.54.) 1777. — The Pileated Francolin {Francolinus pileatus). This fine bird, which mea- sures thirteen inches and a half in length, was dis- covered by Dr. A. Smith during his late expedition into the interior of South Africa, and was first seen on the banks of the Marikwa river, which flows in a south-easterly direction from Kurrichane. "It showed," says Dr. Smith, " but little disposition to resort to the jungle, though when disturbed in more open localities, which it by choice frequents while feeding, it, like Francolinus Natalensis, seeks con- cealment in the bosom of the thickets. Early in the morning specimens were observed in moderate abundance upon the open grassy plots which oc- curred intersecting the wooded regions that skirted both sides of the stream, and there they appeared to find their food in plenty, which was found to consist of small bulbous roots, seeds, insects, &c. To the same localities these birds were also observed to resort towards evening ; but at that period they were less readily discovered, owing to their being commonly more silent at that time. During the middle of the day they were rarely observed, and from what was ascertained there were grounds for believing they repose while the sun is warm, and that while enjoying rest they are generally perched upon dwarf trees or shrubs, no doubt to be the more secure from the teeth of the numerous pre- datory quadrupeds which are constantly traversing the woods in quest of prey." (See ' Illust. of Zool. of South Africa.') Fig. 1778 represents three species of Francolin, from'North Africa, Abyssinia, &'c., and the Bnrbaiy Partridge : o, Clapperton's Francolin (Francolinus Clappertoni) ; b, RUppell's Francolin (F. Rupelhi) ; c, Erckel's Francolin (F. Erckleii) ; d, the Baibaiy Partridge (Perdix petrosa.) 1779.— The Rouloul Partridge {Crmtonyx cristatvs). In the genus Cryptonyx the bill is stout, compressed, and convex above; orbits and lore naked ; hind toe without a claw, and not touching the ground ; wings short ; tarsi spur- less Geoe QniL IT7*.— FfenitiBoiu and Gtejr Fnacella. 1774.— TaigooiQiuU. irrs.— Granp or FnuooUn*. 1777. — Pilcatetl Francolin. .779.— Rouloul Parttidgt«.< 1773 Calirornian PartrWge. 17&2. — Gaieated Oirassow IT80.— Hoa'iin. 1783.— Crmted Gutn. 17S1.— Crested Curanow. 1788.— Oceilated I>!ipaa, 1 787.— Head and FoDt of Talegalla. 178S.— Watded Talegalla. 1789.— Head and Footof leipoa. MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [CURASSOWS. featliera, which are »liort and hidden, are black. Length ten inches. The female wants the crest, but possesses the hair-hke appendiiges of the fore- head. Tlie liead and neck are deep brown ; the whole body uniform ems* ereen ; the winpj of a ruddy brown waved with dark biown. Of the pe- culiar habits of this species little is correctly known, 1780.— Thk Tataupa (TImmim Talnupa, Sw.). Tlie Tinamous, or Ynam- bus,as Azara calls them, are peculiar (o tropical Ame- rica. Thev are distinguished bv a slout form of body, a depressed bill, broader than hit;h, with the nostiils lateral, medial, and o))en. The hind-toe is a mere rudiment ; the tail is extremely short, and concealed by the rump-feathers ; the \vin<;s are short. Mr. Swainson observes that the appearance of these birds reminds us of the bustard!!, which they pro- bably represent in the New World. Their flesh he describes, from personal experience, as infinitely superior, both in flavour and whiteness, to that of the partridge or pheasant. " We believe," he adds, "that these birds never perch, as some suppose, but that they live entirely among herhane in the more open tracts of the interior." Mr. Darwin, who met with a species of this genus near Maldonadu. in a district covered with green turf, but wearisome from its sameness, says. '• We everywhere saw preat numbers of part ridges (Tinamous), Tinan-.iisnifi'scens. These birds do not go in coveys, nor do they conceal themselves like the English kind. It appears a verj' silly bird. A man on horseback, by riding round and round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on the head as many as he pleases. The more common method is to catch them with a running noose, or little lasso, made of the stem of an ostrich's feather fastened '\o the end of a long stick. A boy on a quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or loity in a day. Ttie flesh of this bird, when cooked, is delicately white.'' In the Pampas the same tra- veller asrain met with Tinamous of two species, as large as hen-pheasants, which, with a parliidge-like bird. Eudromia eleeans, were the prey of a small species of fox in great numbers. Mr. Swainson describes the species, of which our pictorial specimen is a representation, as being of a dusky rufous colour above, the head and neck dusky black ; the chin white ; the throat, neck, and breast cinereous; the under parts whitish; the flanks rufous black ; the feathei-s margined with white; bill and irides red. Length eight and a quarter inches. It is a native of Dahia, and very rare, or common only in remote and select districts. It is the smallest of its tribe. Family CHACID.E (CURASSOWS). The Cura-ssows (including the Guans and Hoatzins) arc all natives of South America, and many approach the turkey in magnitude. The hind-toe, instead of being articulated high on the tareus. as in Rasorial birds generally, is on a level with the rest, and adapts the feet for arboreal habits; legs spurless. The tail is ample, and composed of stiff feathers. In several species, as in the galeated curassow, the guan, the rasor billed curassow, and others, the windpipe makes one, two, or even three deep folds between the skin and muscles of the breast before passing into the cavity of the chest. Berries and various sorts of grain constitute the food of these birds, and they are remarkable for lameness, becoming easily domesticated. Their flesh in deli- cacy and whiteness surpasses that of the fowl or pheasant. In many parts of South America, says Mr. Ben- nett, these birds" have long been reclaimed, and it is really surprising, considering the extreme fami- liarity of their manners, and the facility with which they appear to pass from a state of nature to the tameness of domestic fowls, that they have not yet been introduced into the poultry-yards of Europe. That with proper treatment they would speedily become habituated to the climate, we have no reason to doubt : on the contrary, numerous examples have shown that they thrive well even in its northern parts, and M. Temminck informs us that they have been, once at least, thoroughly acclimated in Hol- land, where they were as prolific in their domesti- cated state as any of our common poulliy. The establishment, however, in which this had been effected was broken up by the civil commotions which followed in the train of the French revolution, and the results of much labour lost by its complete dispersion." 1781. — Thk Crksted Cukassow (Cru.T nkclor). In the genus Crax the bill is very deep and arched above ; surroimded at the base with a membrane. Lore naked; head crested; tail- feathers fourteen. The crested curassow is a native of the forests of Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil ; in Guiana particularly it is so abundant, that Sonnini regards it as an un- failing source of supply to the traveller who has to trust to his gun. These birds congregate together in large troops, and are so unsuspicious that they will remain ouielly perched on the branches of trees whilst the gun makes havoc amongst their numbers. In districts, however, which are well frequented, they are more shy and mistrustful, ever I keeping on the alert to avoid the pursuit of the I sportsman. They build laige nests on the trees, constructing them of sticks and long herbage, and lining them with grasses and leaves. The eggs are from five to eight in number, and resemble those of a fowl, but have a thicker shell and are of larger ! size. This species has bred in Holland, and is com- mon in a domestic state in the Dutch settlements of ' Berbice, Rssequibo, Demerara, and elsewhere ; and requires but little care. In aviaries, according to our observations, it suffers, as do the rest of the group, from wet or damp, which occasions mortifi- cation and consequent loss o J" the toes. Plenty of room, a dry soil, with trees on which to perch, and a sheltered situation, are essentials in all endeavours to naturalize this valuable bird. In size the crested curassow equals a motlerate turkey. With the ex- ception of the abdominal region, which is white, the whole plumage is rich black with a gloss of green. The cere and skin round the eyes are bright yellow. The crest consists of feathers about three inches long, curled forwards, of a velvety appear- ance, and capable of being raised or depressed at will. 1782. — ^The Galeated Curassow (Ourax Pauxi). Le Hooco de Mexique, Biiffon. In the genus Ourax the base of the upper man- dible is dilated into a sort of homy elevated casque surmounting the top of the head. The galeated curassow frequents in flocks the fo- rests of Mexico, and perches on the trees, but, as is stated, makes its nest on the ground ; and the young are led by the female parent, in the same manner as a hen leads her brood. The young are at first fed with worms, larva-, and insects, and afterwards pick up grain, fruits, berries, &c. Like the preced- ing, this species is easily domesticated, and is one of those which bred in Holland in the menagerie of M. Ameshoff. Size, that of a small turkey. Head and neck covered with short velvety feathers of a deep black; all the rest of the plumage (with the ex- ception of the feathers of the abdomen, which are white) brilliant black with a gloss of green : tail tipped with white ; legs red ; bill bright red. 1783.— The Crested Guan {Penelnpe cristata). In the genus Peneloae the bill is moderate and convex, with a naked basal skin and lore. Under the throat a naked skin capable of being inflated. Tail-feathers twelve. The crested guan, called Jacu (pronounced Yacoo) in Brazil, as it is said from its cry, inhabits Guiana, Brazil, &c. ; it tenants the woods, sometimes associ- ated in large flocks, passing the greater portion of their existence on the topmost branches of the trees, where it builds its nest. They feed upon seeds and fruits, which, like the pigeons, they search for on the ground ; and, as in the case of those birds, pair together with strict constancy. Their flight is heavy and laboured. Of their flesh, those who have par- taken of it speak very highly. As the conformation of the trachea would lead us to suspect, the voice of these birds is loud and harsh, and when uttered by numbers, in concert, resounds far through the wood- land wilderness. The crested guan has been bred in Holland. In size this bird equals a fowl, but is longer, mea- suring thirty inches, of which the tail is fourteen. The whole of the upper surface is dusky brownish black, with a gloss of olive green. The head is sur- mounted by a tufted crest. The throat-fold of skin is scarlet; the naked cheeks are purplish ; the chest is regularly spotted with dashes of white on a dusky brown ground, which latter colour prevails on the under sxuTace. The female has a universal tinge of reddish, but in other respects lesembles the male. 1784. — The Mot.mot Guan (Orlalida Motmot). In the genus Ortalida the characters are the same as in Penelope, excepting that the head is completely feathered, and there are no naked thioat-folds of skin. This species is found in Guiana, and agrees with the crested guan in ge- neral habits, but we know le.ss respecting it than respecting other species of this family. Its general colour is reddish brown with a bronzy gloss above. 1785. — The IIoatzin (Oj>istliocomvs Crislaliis). Hoatzin and Iloactzin of Hernandez ; Houzin, Buft'on. In the genus Opisthoomus the bill is short, robust, and convex; the feet are large and strong; the tail-fcalhers ten. ! The Hoatzin, which according to Sonnini, is known in Guiana by the name of Sasa, was seen by Her- nandez sitting on trees by the sides of rivers, and is said to prefer the flooded savannahs to higher grounds, and to live in pairs or sojhII companies of six or eight individuals. It feeds nuich on the leaves of the Arum arborescens. The flesh of this species is not in high repute, and has a rank musky flavour and smell, whence probably medicinal pro- perties have been attrihuted to it. The natives, ac- cording to Hernandez, deem this bird inauspicious. In gait and stature it bears much resemblance to the peacock. Family MEGAPODID.^ (MEGAPODES). The birds of this family are peculiar to Australia and the Papuan Islands (New Guinea, &c.\ and till Mr Gould's personal researches in the former country brought their native habits and manners to light, nothing was known respecting them. We have made reference to the Eccaleobion, to the PJgyp- tian egg-ovens, and to M. R6aumur'» manure-pits lor hatching eggs. In these birds, strange to say, we behold examples of instinct-directed ovcn-framers, lor they do not incubate like other birds, but deposit their eggs in mounds of earth and vegetable matter which they have collected and amassed, and in which by the heat generated they are hatched. By the kindness of Mr. Gould we have been favoured with an inspection of these birds, their skeletons, young, and eggs. The skeletons, which have the characters of those of gallinaceous birds, are verv extraordinary, and are adapted to the eggs, which are of enormous size, those of the common Megapode exceeding the eggs of the swan. The eggs of Tallegalla are smooth and white, about the size of those of the pelican ; those of Lei- poa and Megapodius are covered with a sort of epi- dermis, or sandy-coloured chalky layer, which is rea- dily removed from the true shell beneath. With re- spect to the size of these eggs, the intent is evident — they are destined to imprison and afford nutriment to the chick till it has grown to a comparatively large size and acquired great strength ; and when it breaks the .strong shell, it emerges completely clad in perfect full-grown feathers, and works its way through the substance of the mound, in which the egg was deeply buried. The feet of these birds are of immense size and strength, and armed with strong rasorial claws ; the wings are rounded. 1786. — The Wattled Talegalla, or Brush- Turkey (Taleffalla Lalhami, Gould). New Holland Vul- ture, Latham ; Cafheturus Auslralis, Swainson ; Meleagris Lindesargii, Jameson; Brusli-Tuikey of the Colonists; Weelah of the aborigines of the Namoi. The Wattled Talegalla is a native of va- rious parts of New South Wales ; in the dense brushes of Manning and Clarence it is plentiful ; it was found in the scrubby gullies and sides of the lower hills that branch off from the great range into the interior, on the Brezi range to the north of the Liverpool Plains, and was abundant on all the hills on both sides of the Namoi. In its habits it is gregarious, moving about in small companies, like many other gallinaceous biids, and is at the same time very shy and distrustful. When it is disturbed, it readily eludes pursuit by the facility with which it runs through the tangled brush. If hard pressed, or where rushed upon by their great enemy, the na- tive dog, the whole company spring upon the lower- most bough of some neighbouring tree, and, by a succession of leaps from branch to branch, as- cend to the top, and either perch there or fly off to another pait of the brush. They resort also to the branches of trees as a shelter from the sun in the middle of the day, a habit which Mr. Gould notices as greatly tending to their destruction ; for the sportsman is enabled to take a sure aim, and the birds will allow a succession of shots to be fired till they are all brought down. But the most remarkable circumstance connected with the economy of this biitl is its nidification, for it does not hatch its eggs by incubation. It collects together a great heap of decaying vegetables as the place of deposit of its eggs, thus making a hotbed, arising from the decomposition of the collected matter, by the heat of which the young are hatched. Mr. Gould describes this heap as the result of seve- ral weeks' collection by the birds previous to the period of laying, as varying in quantity from two to lour cart-loads, and as of a perl'eclly pyramidical form. This mound, he states, is not the work of a single pair of birds, but is the result of the united labour of many : tlie same site ajiptared to Mr. Gould to he resorted to for several years in succes- sion, from the great size and entire decomposition of the lower part, the birds adding a fresh supply of materials on each occasion previous to laying. "The mode," says Mr. Gould in conlinuatinn, "in which the materials composing these mounds are accumulated is equally singular, the bird never using its bill, hut always grasping a quantity in its foot, throwing it backwards to one common centre. Megapodes.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. and thus cleaiins; the surface of the ground for a considerable distance so completely, that scarcely a leaf or a blade of grass is left. The heap being ac- cumulated, and time allowed for a sufficient heat to be engendered, the eggs are deposited, not side by side, as is ordinarily the case, but planted at the distance of nine or twelve inches from each other, and buried at nearly an arm's depth, peifectly up- right, with the large end upwards : they are covered up as they are laid, and allowed to remain until hatched. I have been credibly informed, both by natives and settlers living near their haiuits, that it is not an unusual event to obtain nearly a bnshel of eggs at one time from a single heap ; and as they are delicious eating, they are eagerly sought after. Some of the natives state that the females are con- stantly in the neighbourhood of the heap about the time the young are likely to be hatched, and fre- quently uncover and cover them up again, appa- rently for the purpose of assisting those that may have appeared; while others have informed me that the eggs are merely deposited, and the young allowed to force their way unassisted. In all proba- bility, as Nature has adopted this mode of reproduc- tion, she has also furnished the tender birds with the power of sustaining themselves from the earliest period: and tlie great size of the egg would equally lead to this conclusion, since in so large a space it is reasonable to suppose that the bird would be much more developed than is usually found in eggs of smaller dimensions. In further confirmation of this point, I may add, that in searching for eggs in one of the mounds, I discovered the remains of a young bird, apparently just excluded from the shell, and which was clothed with feathers, not with down, as is usually the case.* The upriu:ht position of the eggs tends to strengthen the opinion that they are never disturbed after being deposited, as it is well known that the eggs of birds which are placed hori- zontally are frequently fumed during incubation. The same author relates that these birds, while stalking about the wood, frequently utter a loud clucking noise ; and, in various parts of the bush, he observed depressions in the earth, which the natives informed him were made by the birds in dusting themselves. The stomach is stated by Mr. Gould to be extremely muscular ; and he found the crop of one which he dissected filled with seeds, berries, and a few insects. The composure with which these birds sit to be shot at, as above noticed, must, as Mr. Gould ob- serves, lead to an early extinction of the race ; an event, he remarks, nmch to be regretted, since, independently of its being an interesting bird for the aviary, its flesh is extremely delicate, tender, and juicy. Tliere is no doubt that this species may be domesticated, and it would make a noble addition to tliose foreign denizens of the poultry -yard which enrich our homesteads and tables. In the Talegalla the beak is robust and convex ; the wings are moderate ; the tail ample ; the head and neck furnished with short hair-like feathers; the cheeks naked, and the front of the neck presents a carunculated naked skin, or sort of wattle, reminding us of that of the turkey. In the adult male the whole of the upper surface, wings, and tail are blackish brown ; the feathers of the under surface blackish brown at the base, becoming silvery grey at the tip ; skin of the head and neck deep pink-red, thinly sprinkled with short hair-like blackish brown feathers ; wattle bright yellow, tinged with red where it unites with the red of the neck ; bill black ; irides and feet brown. The female is about a fourth less than the male in size, but so closely the same in colour as to ren- der a separate description unnecessary. She also possesses the wattle, but not to so great an extent. Size about that of a turkey. (Gould, ' Birds of Australia.') Fig. 1787 represents the Head and Foot of the Talegalla. 1788. — The Ocellated Leipoa {Leipoa occUata, Gould). Native Pheasant of the colonists ; Ngow of the aborigines of the lowlands, and Ngow-oo of those of the highlands of Western Australia. In this genus the beak is more feeble than in Talegalla, the head clothed with feathers and crested. Fig. 1789 represents the Head and Foot of Leipoa. This species abounds in the countiy north of Perth (VV. Austr.), and in the barren sandy plains of the interior, one hundred miles north and east of York. It was seen by Captain Grey at Gantheaume Bay, and, according to the natives, exists at King George's Sound. In size it is inferior to the Tale- galla, more slender and more elegantly formed. According to the accounts, since confirmed, col- lected by Mr. John Gilbert from G. Moore, Esq., advocate-general, Mr. Armstrong, the aboriginal * 'rtiPse points have he^-n recf ntiv fully conrirmed, and Mr.^ Gould haa a wrip5 of the rao^t vriliiahle and interesting^ specimens, with de- tails, whirh he has received from his intelligent and assiduous col- lector now in Auitxalia. interpreter, and some of the more intelligent natives of Western Australia, the Ocellaled Leipoa is a giound-biid, never taking to a tree except when closely hunted ; when hard pursued, it will frequently nin its head info a bush, and is then easily taken. Food generally consisting of seeds and berries. The note mouinful, very like that of a pigeon, but with a more inward tone. Eggs deposited in a mound of sand, the formation of which is the work of boili sexes. According to the natives, the biids scratch up the sand for many yards arounil, forming a mound about three feet in height, the inside of which is constructed of alternate layers of dried leaves, grasses, &c., among which twelve eggs and up- wards are deposited, and are covered up by the birds as they are laid ; or, as the natives express it, " the countenances of the eggs are never visible." Upon these eggs the bird never sits, but when she has laid out her lay, as the henwives say, the whole are covered up, when the mound of sand resembles an ant's nest. The eggs, which are white, and veiy slightly tinged with red, are hatched by the heat of the sun's rays, the vegetable lining retaining suf- ficient warmth during the night ; they are deposited in layer?, no two eggs being suffered to lie without a division. The natives, who are very fond of the eggs, rob the.se hillocks two or three times in a season ; and they judge of the number of eggs in a mounil by the quantity of feathers lying about. If the feathers be abundant, the hillock is full ; and then they immediately open and take the whole. The bird will then begin to lay again, again to be robbed, and will fiequently lay a third time. Upon questioning one of the men attached to Mr. Moore's expedition, he gave to Mr. Gilbeit a similar account of its habits and mode of incubating; adding, that in all the mounds they opened, they found ants almost as numerous as in an ant-hill, and that in many instances that part of the mound surrounding the lower portion of the eggs had become so hard that they were obliged to chi]) round them with a chisel to get the eggs out ; the insides of the mounds were always hot. Captain Grey ('.Journal of Two Expeditions,' &c., 1841) saw one largo nest com- posed of a heap of sand, dead grass, and boughs, as least nine feet in diameter and thrc; in height, and had observed them even considerably larger. They occurred in dry and sandy spots, covered most densely with a dwarf species of Leptospermum, through which the traveller cannot without the greatest difficulty force a passage, if he chance to leave the beaten path. The plumage is as follows : — head and ci'est blackish biown ; neck and shoulders dark ash-grey; fore part of neck from the throat to the breast with lanceolate feathers which are black with a white stripe down the centre ; fealhers of the back and wings marked with three distinct ba;uls of greyish white, brown and black near the tip of each, the marks assuming an oceliated form; primaries brown, willi zigzag lines near the tip; under sur- face pale buff; fianks barred with black ; tail blackish brown, broadly tipped with buff; bill black; legs blackish brown. (Gould, 'Birds of Australia.') 1790. — The Mound-making Megapode {Megapodius Tumulus, Gould). Jungle-fowl of the colonists of Port Essington; Ooiegooiga of the aboiigines of the Coburg Peninsula. In the genus Megapodius the beak is slender, nearly straight, and much resembles that of a fowl ; the head is crested ; the toes are very large and robust, and the claws of great size and strength. Fig. 1791 represents the Head and Foot of Megapodius. On Mr. Gilbert's arrival at Port Essington his attention was attracted to numerous great mounds of earth which were pointed out to him by some of the residents as being the tumuli of the aliorigines. The natives, on the other hand, assured him that they were formed by the Jnngle-fowl for the pur- pose of hatching its eggs. But this last statement appeared so extiaordinary, and so much at variance with the general habits of birds, that no one in the settlement believed them, and the great size of the eggs brought in by them as the produce of this bird strengthened the doubt of the veracity of their infoimation. Mr. Gilbeit, however, knowing the habits of Leipoa, took with him an intelligent native, and proceeded about the middle of Novem- ber to Knocker's Bay, a part of Port Essington harbour comparatively but little known, and wheie he had been informed a number of these birds were to be seen. He landed beside a thicket, and had not advanced far from the shore when he came to a mound of sand and shells, with a slight mixture of black soil, the base resting on a sandy beach, only a few feet above high-water mark ; it was enveloped in the large yellow-blossomed Hibiscus, was of a conical form, twenty feet in circumference at the base, and about five feet high. On asking the native what it was, he replied ' Oregooiga Rambal ' (Jungle-fowl's house or nest). Mr. Gilbert scram- bled up the sides of it, and found a you-ig bird in a hole about two feet deep ; the nestling, apparently only a few days old, was lying on a few dry withered leaves. The native assured Mr. Gilbeit that it would be of no use to look for eggs, as there were no traces of the old birds having lately been there. Mr. Gilbert took the utmost care of the young biid, placed it in a moderate-sized box, into which he introduced a large portion of sand, and fed it on bruised Indian corn, which it took rather freely. It* disposition was wild and intractable, and it effected its escape on the third day. While it remained in captivity, it was incessantly employed in scratching up the sand into heaps, and Mr. Gilbert remarks that the rapidity with which it threw the fand from one end of the box to the other was ([uite surprising for so young and small a bird, its size not being larger than that of a small quail. At night it was so restless that Mr. Gilbert was constantly kept awake by the noise it made, in endeavouiing to e.scane. In scratching up the sand the bird only employed one foot, and having giasped a handful, as it were, threw the sand behind it with but little apparent exertion, and without shifting its standing position on the other leg. Mr. Gilbert continued to receive the eggs without any opportunity of seeing them taken from the ground unlil the beginning of February, when, on again visiting Knocker's Bay, he saw two taken from a depth of six feet, in one of the largest mounds he had met with. In this instance the holes ran down in an oblique direction from the centre towards the outer slope of the hillock, so that although the eggs were six feet deep from I lie sum- mit, they were only two or three feet from the side. "The birds,' says Mr. Gilbert in continuation, "are said to lay but a single egg in each hole, and after the egg is deposited the earth is immediately thrown down lightly until the hole is filled up ; the upper paitof the moimd is then smoothed and roumJed over. It is easily known when a Jungle-fowl has been recently excavating, from the distinct impres- sions of its feet on the top and sides of the mound, and the earth being so lightly thrown over, that with a slender stick the direction of the hole is readily detected, the ease or difficulty of thrusting the stick down indicating the length of time that may have elapsed since the bird's operations. Thus far it is easy enough ; but to reach the eggs requires no little excriion and perseverance. The natives dig them up with their hands alone, and only make sufficient room to admit their bodies, and to throw out the earth between their legs; by grubbing with their fingers alone they are enabled to follow the direction of the fiole with greater certainty, which will sometimes, at a depth of several feet, turn off abruptly at right angles, its direct course being ob- structed by a clump of wood or some other impedi- ment. Their patience is, however, often put to se- vere trials. In the present instance the native dug down six times in succession to a depth of at least six or seven feet without finding an egg, and at the last attempt came up in such a state of exhaustion that he refused to try again ; but my interest was now two much excited to relinquish the opportunity of verifying the native's statements, and by the offer of an additional rew^ard I induced him to try again ; this seventh trial proved successful, and my gratifi- cation was complete when the native, with iqual pride and satisfaction, held up an egg, and, after two or three more attempts, produced a second : thus proving how cautious Europeans should be of dis- regarding the narrations of these poor children of nature, because they happen to sound extraordinary or different from anything with which they were previously acquainted." Upon another occasion Mr. Gilbert and his native, after an hour's excessive labour, obtained an egg from the depth of about five feet. It was in a perpendicular position. The holes in this mound (which was fifteen feet high and sixty in circumfe- rence at the base, and like the majority of those that he had seen, so enveloped in thickly foliaged trees as to preclude the possibility of the sun's rays reaching any part of it) commenced at the outer edge of the suijimit and ran down obliquely towards the centre : their direction therefore, Mr. Gilbert observes, is not uniform. The mound was quite warm to the hands. " The Jungle-fowl is almost exclusively confined to the dense thickets immediately adjacent to the sea-beach : it appears never to go far inland, except along the banks of creeks. It is always met with in pairs or quite solitary, and feeds on the ground, its food consisting of roots, which its powerful claws enable it to scratch up with the utmost facility, and also of seeds, berries, and insects, particulaily the larger species of Colcoptera. It is at all times a very difficult bird to procure ; for although the rustling noise produced by its stiff pinions when flying away be frequently heard, the bird itself is seldom to be seen. Its flight is heavy and unsus- tained in the extreme ; when first disturbed it in- variably flies to a tree, and on alighting stretches •.■»^i..'.". V:. '..''- 119}.— Maand-nuklng Mrgapode. 1793. — Young of Megmpode. ITM.— SkeMan oTOrtrieh. ini.— Haad >ad FootoT Megapods. '""VHf^ ITK.— SWalaa at Aptmjx. 179(1. -Held and Foot ofOitrich. 1801 — Stomach of Ostrich. 1808— stomaxh of Emeu. 1802-— Stomach of Ostrich, laid opes. ■"^.Ui j.m- i:98.— Ostridres. 1SC3.— Darwin's Khr. 1803, 18 )j.— 3tOTiv!h of N indn No. 52. Vol. II 1*9".— Oalrich cirrying a Nc;jro. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] lSO-3.— rout of Rli.'a. 10 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ostriches. out iti'head and neck in a straight line with ite body, remaining in this i)osition as stationary and motionless a* the branch upon which it is jwrched : if however it becomes fairly alarmed, it takes a ho- rizontal but laborious flight for about a hundred yards with it* legs hanging down as if broken. I did not myself detect any note or cry, but from the native's description and imitation of it, it much re- sembles the clucking of the domestic fowl, endmg with a scream like that of the peacock. I observed that the bird* continued to lav fiom the latter part of August to March, when I left that part of the country; and, according to the testimony of the native*, there is only an interval of about four or five months, the driest and hottest part of the year, l>etween their seasons of incubation. ('Birds of Australia.') Tlie head and crest ot the mound-making Mega- pode are of a deep cinnamon brown. The back of the neck and all the under surface dark grey. Back and wings cinnamon brown ; tail-coverts dark chest- nut ; bill reddish brown. Tarsi bright orange, with the exception of the lower scales of the front, and those of the toes, which are dark reddish brown. 1792.— Duperbky's Megapooe (Mega/xxiiuji Ihijterreyii). Tliis species, the Man- goipe of the Papuans, inhabits the forests of New Guinea, and was found by Lesson near the harbour of Dori-ry ; he observes that it is timid, rans fast among the bushes like a partridge, and utters a feeble cluck. Another species, the Manesaqu6 (M. Freyanetii), Lesson found common in the Island of Wajgiou. 1793. — Alecthelia Urvillii of Lesson. This bird, which Lesson not only regarded as a dis- tinct species, but a-s the type of a distinct genus (on such unphilosophical grounds are genera now esta- blished), is nothing more than the young of the Megapodius Duperreyii : his specimen was procured from the Isle of Guebe under the equator. ORDER CURSORES. Illiger appliesthis title to a group of birds including the ostrich, rhea, cassowary, and also the bustards, plovers, stilt-plovers, and others ; and so, according to our views, forms an order of heterogeneous ma- terials. Cuvier, with better judgment, places the ostrich and its allies the emeu, cassowary, &c., in a distinct family group, which he calls " les Brevi- pennes," and which accords with the family " Struthi- onidae " of M. Vigors, excepting that the latter in- cludes in it the bustards. The order " Strufliiones" of the Prince of Canino corresponds with the " Bre- vipennes" of Cuvier, the same order of Mr. G. R. Gray agrees with the family " Struthionidae " of Vigors. That the ostriches present us with a distinct type of form and anatomy from that exemplified either by the rasorial or grallatorial birds is palpable, and hence we place them under the title of an order ]ier se, using the term Cursores, but excluding both the bustards and the plovers, &c. We are ac- customed to look upon birds as denizens of the air, as endowed with the powers of flight ; but in the t)ird8 of this order we see a marked exception to the general rule. They are strictly and exclusively terrestrial. They have wings it is true, but these organs are at their minimum of development, while, on the contrary, the limbs are massive, the bones large and stout, and the muscles acting upon them exceedingly voluminous. In fact the whole locomotive energy is thrown into the lower extremities, while the wings, li'tle more than rudimentary, are utterly inadequate to raise the body from the ground. This disproportion may be seen in the Skeleton of the Ostrich, Fig. 1794, and still more so in that of the Apteryx, Fig. 17S)0, and with it we observe that the sternum or brea.st-bone is both diminished and otherwise modified. Our plan, however, forbids us to enter much into anato- mical details; we shall therefore proceed at once to our first family. Family 8TRUTHI0NID>B (OSTRICH, RHEA, &c.). The birds of this family, remarkable for the power of the lower extremities, their stature, and the loose texture of their plumage, are divided between Africa, South America, Australia, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. Their appearance is striking; but their intelligence is not of a high order, rather, indeed, the contrary, though they are watchful and wary. Their food consists of vegetable matters, to which, in some species, insects, larvae, worms, and other animal substances are added. 1796, 1707, 1798.-THE Ostrich (Struthio-Cameiuii, Linnipus). Srpoi/Soica'/iiiXot of the Greeks; Struthiocamelus of Pliny; Autruche of the French ; Struzzo and Stnizzolo of the Italians ; Strauss of the Germans. The genus Struthio is characterised by the beak being depressed, straight, rounded and unguiculate at the tip, with the nostrils longitudinal, prolonged half way down the bill, and open, the legs robust, with only two toes stout and strong, and connected at their base by a thick membrane ; of these the innermost is much larger than the outer toe, and is furnished with a hoof-like claw, outer toe clawless ; wings furnished with beautiful waving plumes, and two plumeless shafts not unlike a porcupine's quill ; head and upper half of the neck scantily covered with thin down; eyes large >ind well guarded with eyelashes; tongue extremely small, short, and rounded. Fig. 1799 represents the Head and Foot of the Ostrich ; Fig. 1800, the trout view of the head, with the beak open to show the tongue. The resemblance of the ostrich in many structural peculiarities to the ruminating quadrupeds was not overlooked by the ancients, which led them to assign to it the name of camel-bird, in allusion to certain points of analogy between it and the camel : indeed Aristotle asserts the ostrich to be partly bird and partly quadruped, and Pliny observes that it may be almost considered as belonging to the class of beasts. The voluminous thighs divested of feathere are more like those of a ([uadruped than a bird ; added to which the bifid hoof-armed foot, well padded beneath, bears a marked resemblance to that of the camel. In this animal there is a large callous pad on the chest, upon which, when reposing, it throws a great portion of the weight of the body. In the ostrich the sternum, which has no keel, but is simply convex andshield-like, is also covered with a callous pad, or elastic cushion, having a hard rough surface unclothed with feathers, and on which the birds rest while reposing. The eyes, with their long lashes and overhanging brow, are also camel- like. The vast size and sacculated form of the pro- ventriculoiis (or cavity before the muscular gizzard), with its extraordinary apparatus of glands for pour- ing out a solvent fluid capable of reducing the coarsest vegetable aliment, is not to be overlooked. (See Fig. 1801, the Stomach of the Ostrich; Fig. 1802, the same laid open.) Nor ought we to pass unnoticed the comparatively developed condition of the diaphragm, which muscular expansion in the Apteryx is complete. Like the camel, this celebrated bird is destined to inhabit the wide-spread desert, beneath a burning sun. It is found in the sandy wilds of Arabia, and of Africa from the north to the south; everywhere avoiding the presence of man, who time immemo- rial has been its unrelenting pei'secutor. In South Aliica flocks of ostriches are often seen on the Great Karroo, in company with troops of quaggas, all amicably feeding together, and when alarmed scouring the desert with extraordinary ra- pidity. The swiftness of the ostrich is indeed very great; elevating itself and vibrating its expanded plumes, it leaves " horse and rider " far behind. In South Africa several horsemen, taking different sides of a plain, often manage to tire the bird down : but when driven to extremities it frequently turns infuriated on its pursuers, and will inflict dreadful wounds with its claw. Dr. Shaw gives an account of a person who was ripped open by the blow of an enraged ostrich, which was kept tame, and which, though gentle to persons with whom it was familiar, was fierce and violent towards strangers. (' Travels in Arabia.') In Arabia and North Afiica the chace of the ostrich is accounted one of the most severe of exercises both for the Arab and his courser, re- quiring not only speed, but skill ; and did the bird, instead of wheeling round in circles of greater or less extent, dart forward in a direct line, the hunter would find his ett'orts fruitless : as it is, he is gene- rally enabled, after some exertion, to dash across the path of the bird, and throw his djerid or fire his gun. From the swiftness of the ostrich, and its (lower of endurance at full speed for hours, we may easily conceive that its strength must be very great. Adans,on saw two tame ostriches at the factory of Podor, on the south bank of the Niger. "They were both so tame,' he says, "that two little blacks mounted together on the back of the largest, and no sooner did he feel their weight than he began to run as fast as ever he could, till he carried them several times round the village, and it was impos- sible to stop him otherwise than by obstructing the passage. To try their strength, I made a full- grown negro mount the smallest, and two others the largest. This burden did not seem to me at all disproportioned to their strength. At firet they went at a moderate gallop ; when they were heated a little, they expanded their wings as if to catch the wind, and then scoured along with such fleetness that they seemed not to touch the ground : they would have distanced the fleetest racehoraes that were ever bred in England." The ostrich is polygamous. " The male ostrich in South Africa, at the time of breeding," savs a personal observer, " usually associates to himself Irom two to six females. The hens lay all their eggs together in one nest, this being merely a shal- low cavity scraped in the ground of such dimen- sions as to be conveniently covered by one of these gigantic birds during incubation. The hens relieve . each other during the day, and tlie male takes his turn at night, when his superior strength is required to protect the eggs or the new-fledged young from jackals, tiger-cats, and other enemies. Some of these animals are not unfrequently found lying dead near the nest, killed by a stroke from the foot of this powerful bird. As many as sixty eggs are some- times Ibund in and around an ostrich nest ; but a smaller number is more common. Each female lays from twelve to sixteen eggs. They continue to lay during incubation, and even alter the young brood are hatched; the supernumerary eggs are not placed in the nest, but around it, being designed (it IS reported) to assist in the nourishment of the young birds, which.though as large as a pullet when first hatched, are probably unable at first to digest the hard and acrid food on which the old ones sub- sist. The period of incubation is from thirty-six to forty days. In the middle of the day the nest is often left by all the birds, the heat ot the sun being then sufficient to keep the eggs at the proper tem- perature." With respect to the passage in Job xxxix. 1~>, it may be observed, that within the torrid zone the eggs are merely laid in the warm sand, the incuba- tion of the female being required only at night ; so far, however, is she from neglecting her oit'spring, that she watches over them with as much solicitude as any other bird, hovering around the spot where they are deposited, and if surprised, making a short circuit and returning to the object of her care. The flesh of the ostrich when young is very palat- able, and the eggs are excellent. If, however, the bird perceives that the latter have been disturbed by the hand or that the nest has been visited, she breaks them all and abandons the spot ; hence the natives abstract these delicacies by means of a long stick, with the utmost caution, and endeavour to prevent the prints of their footsteps from being vi- sible ; if this be well managed, the hen will continue to lay for some time. The food of the ostrich consists of the tops of shrubby plants, seeds, and grain ; strange to say, however, it will swallow with indiscriminating vora- city stones, sticks, pieces of metal, cord, leather, and other substances, which often occasion its destruc- tion. A fine specimen in the gardens of the Zool. Soc. ultimately died in consequence of swallowing part of a paiasol. The voice of the ostrich is, under ordinary cir- cumstances, a hoarse sonorous sort of chuckle, but it is said to utter, especially at night, a. roaring so like that of the lion, as to deceive the Hottentots. The young ostrich is covered with coarse mottled and striped plummage of a blackish brown and yel- lowish white : the feathers of the back having the shafts dilated into a thin horny strip. The height of the adult male is from seven to eight feet or more, standing upright. The beautiful plumes which are so valued in commerce are pro- cured from the wings and tail. Great as is in modern days the slaughter of os- triches, in the times of the Roman emperors it must have been far more considerable. We read of the brains of six hundred having been on one occasion served up in a single dish : and Vopistus is said to have devoured an entire ostrich (a chicken doubt- less) at one sitting. By the Mosaic law the ostrich was forbidden as food, and the Arabs still regard it as unclean. 1803. — Darwin's Rhea {Rhea Darwinii). In the genus Rhea the bill much resembles that of the ostrich, but is smaller, and the head and neck are completely feathered ; the wings are furnished with plumes and terminated by a hooked spur. The feet are three-toed, the middle toe being much the largest, and are armed with stout claws. This genus is peculiar to South America. * Fig. 1804 represents the Foot of the Rhea. Two species of Rhea are now known, of which one, the Rhea Darwinii, has been but recently in- troduced to science. The other, long known, is the Nanilu or Nhandu-Guafu of the Brazilians ; the Tuiju of Laci'pede : Struthio Rhea of Linnaeus (Rhea Americana, Temminck). By travellers it is often called "ostrich." The v.ings of this species are more developed than in the true ostrich, and are adorned with long slender plumes — those answering to the quill-feathers are white. The plumes of this bird are imported into England as an article of commerce, and are often seen fixed in a handle, so as to form light and delicate dusting-brushes. In its natural attitude the Nandu stands about five feet high : its general colour is greyish brown inter- mingled with black passing into a lighter tint on Ostriches.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 11 the under parts ; the base of the neck is encircled by black, which spreads on the chest into a trans- verse semilunar mark. Though common in its native country, it is only within tlie last lew years that specimens existed either in our museums or me- nageries, and, indeed, it is not long since that naturalists leckoned it among doubtful species. Azara states that it abounds upon the borders of tiie river La Plata, and is generally seen in the open parts in paire, though sometimes in flocks of thirty. It is chased by horsemen, who capture or kill it with bolas, or thongs of leather with stones attached to the ends, which are very eff'ective weapons. To our knowledge of the habits of this bird Mr. Darwin has recently made important additions. He describes it as aboundinir on the plains of La Plata, and as occurring occasionally in Paraguay. To the south its limit appears to be from forty-two to forty-throe degrees. " 1 1 lias not," he says, " crossed the Cor- dilleras, but I have seen it within the first range of mountains on the Uspallata plain, elevated between six and seven thousand feet." Its food consists of roots, grass, &c., but at Bahia Blanca Mr. Darniii repeatedly saw " three or four come down at low- water mark to the extensive mud-banks, which are then dry, for the sake, as theGauchos say, of catch- ing small fish." It is shy, wary, and fleet, but easily falls a prey to the Gauchos, who appear at different points around it, and so confuse it that it docs not know which way to take, and is soon struck by their bolas. It prefers to run against the wind. It is a singular fact that the nandu takes to the water and swims well. Mr. King informed Mr. Darwin that in Patagonia, at the bay of San Bias, and at Port Valdos, he saw those birds swimming several times from island to island; little of their bodies appeared above the surface, and their progress was slow ; and on two occasions Mr. Darwin saw them swimming across the Santa Cruz river, four hundred yards wide, with a rapid current. The note uttered by the male bird is a deep-toned hissing. It appears that the male alone incubates the eggs, and that several females lay in one shallow excava- tion, the total number of eggs varying from twenty to fifty. But besides the eggs deposited together in the nest, others, called by the Gauchos " huachos," are found scattered in great nurabere over the plain, where they lie and become putrid. This circum- stance, which appears strange, may arise, as Mr. Darwin suggests, "from the difficulty in several females associating together, and in finding a male ready to take the office of incubation.'' It is evident there must at first be some degree of association between at least two females, otherwise the eggs of each would be deposited at distances far too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest. Previous then to the association of two or more females, the eggs they lay are dropped over the plain ; but when the partnership takes place, they make a common nest. The Rhea Darwinii (Fig. 1803), orAvestruz Petise, as the Gauchos call it, and which was evidently known to Dobrizhoft'er (Account [of the Abipones, 1749), is considerably smaller than the preceding species, inhabits Southern Patagonia, and about Rio Negro advances upon the border-line of the nandu; it is, however, rare there. At Santa Cruz Mr. Darwin saw several : " They are,'" he says, " exceed- ingly wary. I think they could see a person ap- proaching when he was so far off as not to distinguish an ostrich. In ascending the river few were seen, but in our quiet and rapid descent many in pairs or by fo'.us or fives were observed. It was remarked by some of the officers, and I think with truth, that this bird did not expand its wings when first starting at full speed, after the manner of the northern kind." It takes to the water like the nandu, and is said to prefer the plains near the sea, taking the place in Southern Patagonia of the nandu of northern Patagonia and the plains of La Plata. An imper- fect specimen, shot at Port Desire, Patagonia,! at. 48° (the only one, wc believe, in Europe), brought home by Mr. Darwin, is preserved in the museum of the Zool. Soc. The French naturalist M. d'Oibigny, when at Rio .Janeiro, made great exertion to procure specimens of this bird, but did not succeed. A half- bred Indian informed Mr. Darwin that more than one female lays her eggs in a single nest, but the total number of eggs seldom amounts to more than fifteen. Mr. Darwin picked up eggs of the Avestruz Petise on the plains of Patagonia, and observes that they are little less than those of the common species, but of somewhat different form, and with a imge of Sale blue. For minuter details we refer to Mr. larwin's '.Journal,' p. 105-110. Fig. 1805 represents the Stomach of the Nandu; Fig. 180C, the same laid open to show the gastric glands. 1807.— Emeu, Foot op {Dromnim Nnvm IlollandicB). Dromaius Australis, Swainaon ; Emu, New Holland Cassowary ; Parem- bang of the natives. Vol.. II. In the genus Dromaius the bill is straight, with the edges depressed, slightly carinated above; head feathered ; throat nearly naked ; feet three-toed, very robust. The emeu is a native of New Holland, and also the west coast near Swan River; Captain Flinders found these birds in abundance at Port Philip and King George's Sound ; and Flinders and Peron saw them in numbers on Kangaroo Island. This species nearly equals the ostrich in bulk, but is lower on the legs, shorter in the neck, and more thickset in the body. In its native regions it is said to stand six or seven feet, when its head is fairly raised, and we have seen fine males in England of nearly the same magnitude. The wings are simple rudiments, destitute of plumes, and hidden beneath the feathers of the body ; these have loose barbs ; each feather consists of two plumes, the accessory plume, which is usually very short, being greatly elongated. As the feathers lie loosely hanging on the bird, they resemble hair ; the cheeks and throat are nearly naked; the general colour is dull brown, but the skin of the cheeks and throat is purple. The sound which the emeu utters is very singular ; it is a hollow inward drumming, eftected by a pecu- liar structure of the windpipe ; — to the lower portion of this is added a membraneous sac, communicating with the windpipe by means of a fissure, and con- sequently capable of being distended with air ; and the compression of this air, so as to force a portion of it through the orifice into the windpipe, at inter- vals, doubtless occasions the sound. The emeu breeds freely in captivity in our climate : the female lays from seven to eleven esgs, which are of a beautiful deep green, very hard-shelled, and nearly as large as those of the ostrich. The office of incubation is performed by the male, who sits with great assiduity. The young, when hatched, are clothed with a thick downy plumage, of greyish white colour, with two stripes of black down the back, two down each side, and two broken stripes down the fore part of the neck and breast. In its native country the range of the emeu, owing to the advance of colonization, is more limited than formerly ; it, however, abounds still in the plains beyond the limits of the colony of New Holland, and on Kangaroo and King's Islands. Timid and peaceful, the emeu trusts alone to its speed for safety, excepting indeed when hard pressed ; it then strikes violently with its legs : it is chased by dogs, and the course is said to afford, to those who delight in such recreation, excellent sport. We learn from Mr. Cunningham, that few dogs, except such as are specially trained, can be brought to attack it, both on account of some peculiar odour in the flesh which they dislike, and because when driven to extremity it defends itself with great vigour, striking out with its feet, and inflicting ter- rible wounds ; the settlers, he observes, assert that " it will break the small bone of a man's leg by this sort of kick." To avoid being struck, the dogs, if properly trained, will run up abreast, and make a sudden spring at the neck, and if successful, they then soon dispatch the game. The eggs of the emeu are highly esteemed for food, and the flesh of the young is extremely delicate : that of the full-grown birds is coarse ; it is, however, eaten both by the natives and the colonists, who often prefer it to kan- garoo. "The rump part," says Mr. G. Bennett (' Wanderings,' &c.), "is considered as delicate as fowl ; the legs are coarse, like beef, but still tender. The fibula bone of the leg is used as an ornament by the natives." It is, however, prin- cipally for the oil obtained fi'om it that the emeu is valued. Of this fluid the skin of a full-grown bird produces six or seven quarts ; it is clear, and of a bright yellow or amber colour. This oil is extracted by boiling the skin, stripped of the feathers, and cut into small pieces. It is used for burning in lamps, and various purposes. The natives prefer their emeu meat with the skin on, regarding the oil as a luscious treat. Though these birds are shy and wary, they take but little pains in the concealment of their nest, which is very simple, consisting of a few sticks, leaves, and grasses, scraped together upon a clear space amidst brushwood. The natives seek lor the eggs, which during the season of breeding form a great portion of their subsistence. The food of this bird consists of leaves, fruits, and herl)age, for the plucking of which its straight strong beak, which is rounded at the point, is well adapted. Though not an aquatic bird, the emeu swims well ; it has been observed by Captain Sturt crossing the Murrumbidgee River; and though we are not aware that either the ostrich or the cassowary ever enters the water and swims (a circumstance, especially as far as the latter is concerned, not improbable), we know that this is the case with the Rhea. That the emeu might become naturalized in Europe, forming an ornament to our paiks and pleasure-grounds, no one who has seen the speci- mens in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London can hesitate to admit. There is, besides the common emeu, a distinct species, of which one specimen exists in the Lin- n;can Collection, the other in the Museum at Paris. It is the Dromaius parvulus of Gould. It is very rare, if indeed it be not extirpated. Fig. i808 repre- sents the Stomach of the Emeu. 1809, 1810.— The Cassowary (Cusuarius Casoar, Brisson). Emeu of the early Portuguese voyagers ; Casoaris of Bontius. This fine bird, the sole example of the genus Casuarius, is a native of Java, Sumatra, Banda, and the Moluccas. The beak, instead of being broad and depressed, as in the ostrich, is compressed laterally, and ridged above ; the head and upper part of the neck are naked, the former being surmounted with a horny crest or helmet, the latter being of the most intense blue, purple, and scarlet blended together ; there are two v.attles at the lower part of the neck. The body is covered with long, narrow, blackish, feathers, rather stiff and glossy, and having a coarse, hair-like appearance. 'The pinions are very small, and concealed beneath the plumage, with the ex- ception of fine long, stiff, and pointed shafts, of a black colour ; their length is unequal ; the longest exceeds twelve inches. The thighs are clothed with feathers, and the toes are three in number, of which the innermost, which is short, is armed with an enormous conical claw. Height of bird when erect, about five feet. In many important points of internal structure the cassowary differs from the ostrich; in fact, it is not a desert bird, though fleet and powerful : its digestive organs are not adapted for hard coarse diet, but for fruits and tender succulent herbage. It is not common even in its native islands, where, however, it is sometimes kept tame. It defends itself by striking violently with its feet,'turning itself obliquely, and kicking backwards at its enemy. Cuvier says that it strikes also with its wing-shafts. It is bold and resolute, but by no means intelligent. This bird is much inferior in size to the ostrich ; but it is robustly built, and very strong. Bontius remarks that the eggs are very diff'erent from those of the ostrich, by reason of their thinness and colour, for their shell is greenish, ornamented with deeper-tmted numerous tubercles. They are eaten by the natives. Cuvier says that the cassowary, like the ostrich, abandons its eggs, and that they are hatched by the heat of the climate. Fig. 1811 represents the Head and Foot of the Cassowary ; Fig. 1812, the Skull of the Young Cassowary, before the osseous helmet, which increases with age, has begun to be elevated ; Fig. 1813, the Skull of the Adult Cassowary, with the horny helmet (which during life is encased with hornj greatly developed. Family APTERYGID^ (APTERYX). This family is limited, as far as we yet know, to New Zealand. 1814. — The Apteryx (Apteryx Anstralis). Kiwi-kiwi of the natives of New Zealand. New Zealand presents us with the Apteryx, or Kiwi-kiwi, so extraordinary a bird, and so anomalous in its conformation, that the existence of a species possessing such a combination of characters has been denied. The original specimen, namely, that described by Shaw, and for many years the only one extant in Europe, is in the cabinet of the Earl of Derby. It was brought home in 1812, by Captain Barclay, of the ship Providence. Within the last few years, however, since New Zealand has been visited by intelligent Europeans, several other spe- cimens have been received ; and among them one complete bird, preserved in brine, which has enabled Professor Owen to give a most elaborate account of its anatomy (published in the second vol. of the ' Trans. Zool. Soc.'), accompanied with admirable engravings. (See also 'Pioceeds. Zool. Soc, 1838.; 'The apteryx stands about two lectin height. Its wings are trifling rudiments, buried beneath the general plumage of the body, and not to be dis- covered without difficulty ; they are each terminated by a little hooked claw. The beak is long, slender, and slightly arched, reminding one of that of the curlew. The upper mandible is somewhat swollen and notched at its tip, and a longitudinal furrow runs along each side from the base to the extremity. The situation of the nostrils is most extraordinary ; they are minute narrow fissures, one on each side of the tip oC the beak ; and therefore not situated as in other buds which insert their long beaks into mud for the pur- pose of procuring insects, and which have the nostrils at the base. The limbs are e.\tremely powerful ; the tarsi are thick and short, and covered wi'.li hard scales. The toes are four in number; the three anterior toes are robust, with strong claws, and are well adapted for digging. The hind toe is a thck. Kit.— Pom of A|fAptcrTi. 18I4^A(i(rrrx. 1810. — Cassowaries. IBia^SkuU of Adnit Cmmwut. ISIZ.— SInill of Youg OMWury. 1309.— Cimnraiy.* 1311,— Hend and Fool of CiMOwary. 12 1320 —Dodo, from H«b«l. ^ -^-^- 1819.— Dodo, from Cluiiiu. 1821.— Dodo, from Uontins. 1824,— Foot of Dodo in lirilish Museum 1822.— I,e Solitaire, from Lejuat. 13 14 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Dodo. shaq>, homy spur, used as an offonsive weanon. Tliere is no veklige of a tail. Tlie tongue is wiort -and simple. The leathers are long and lanceolate, and fall loosely like tho.e of the emeu, but there is only a single plume from each quill. These feathers are of a chestnut brown, manriiicd on each side with blacki^ brown : the tint of those on thu under parts is lighter. The eye is small, and a number of long bristle-like hairs arc scattered around and about the angles of the mouth. The bill is of a horn colour, or yellowish, like a piece of cane. It is principally in the southern parts of the middle island of New Zealand that this bird is to be met with, though it exists wherever suitable locali- ties afford it shelter — these are extensive beds of fern, among which it conceals itself. When chased it takes refuge in the clefts of rocks, in hollow trees, or in deep holes which it excavates in the ground ; these holes are its breeding-places, and conduct to a deep chamber, in which thu apteryx makes a bed of fcni for the eggs, bat neither the number nor the colour of these is satisfactorily determined, nor do we know any particulars respecting their incuba- tion. Tlie food of this strange bird consists of insects, and particularly worms; in order to procure the latter it disturbs them by striking with its feet and bill on the ground, and seizes them the instant they make their appearance ; it will also thrust its bill into soft soil and draw them out, swallowing them whole. Night is the season of activity, the apterj-x being nocturnal in its habits, and the natives are accu.s- tomed to hunt it by torch-light ; they value it greatly for the sake of its skin, which they prepare with the feathers on. Dresses made with these skins (which are singularly tough and firm) are prized by the chiefs, who can rarely be induced to part with them. When the apteryx is undisturbed and quietly resting, savs Mr. Snort in' a letter to Mr. Yarrell ('Trans. Z'ool. Soc' 18,^3), the head is thrown back upon theshouldere, the bill pointing to the ground. When pursued, it elevates the head, like an ostrich and runs with great swiflness. When overtaken, it defends itself with spirit and vigour, and inflicts dangerous blows with its strong spur-armed feet. Such is the sum total of our knowledge of the habits of this bird, which seems doomed to become, at no distant date, exterminated from the limited portion of the globe which alone forms its habitat. A beautiful figure is given of it by Mr. Gould, in the second part of his • Birds of Australia and New Zealand.' Fig. 181") represents the Bill of the Apteryx ; Fig, 1816, the Foot of the same bird. Family DIDIDyK (DODO). This family contains only one established genus, Didus ; and the only species, as far as we can ascer- tain, included in it, is extinct. 1817.— The Dodo (DUius Uiephis^.. Dronte, Bontius; Walgh-Viigel of the Dutch mariners, according to Clusiiis; Dod-aers of the Dutch, and Dod-eereen ; Solifario of the Portuguese ; Gallus gallinaceus peregrinus, Clusius ; Cygnus cucuUatus, Nieremberg. Till the discovery, in ISC'), of the islands now called Bourbon, Mauritius, and Rodrigue (but first termed the Mascarenhas Isles, from the name of the Por- tuguese navigator who discovered them), they ap- pear never to have been occupied as a residence by man; perhaps no human foot had ever trod thei'r shores, no human voice broken the stillness of their woodland solitudes. In these islands for ages had the dodo existed undisturbed, at least by the great marauder, by whom at last its race was to be ex- tinguished. It appears, indeed, if the species be the same, that the dodo was at one time not confined to those islands, and that it was, previously to 150.5, known to the Portuguese mariners under the name of Solitario ; for Vasco de Gama, in 14U7, after doubling the Cape of Storms (the Cape of Good Hope), found an island near a bay (Angra de San Blaz) where solitaries were plentiful, and again in 1499 touching at the same place, the crew took a number of them. The sailors compared these birds to swans, and called the island "Ilha des Cisnes," or Isle of Swans. In 1614 Castleton visited Bourbon ; there he found the dodo abundant, and so tame as to allow itself to be killed with sticks or stones. He had also met with the bird in Mauritius, where they are, as he states, in great plenty, and known by the name of giants. The island of Uodrigue, wliich, though previously- known, had perhaps not been visited, being sur- rounded by coral reefs, and also being destitute of secure anchorage, was examined by Leguat in 1091, who, with several companions, remained some time' with a view to colonization. He there found the dodo, which he terms Solitaire, or the solitary be- cause it never congregates in flocks, though it is very abundant. He gives some particulars respect- ing it, which agree in the main with those detailed in ' Herbert's Travels,' published in 1634, and accom- panied by a figure. "The males have generally a greyish or brown Elumage, the feet of the turkey, and also the beak, ut a little more hooked. They have hardly any tail, and their rump, covered with feathers, is rounded like the croup of a horse. They stand higher than the turkey-cock, and have a straifjht neck, a little longer in proportion than it is in that bird when it raises its head. The eye is black and lively, and the head without any crest or tuft. They do not fly, their wings being too short to support the weight of their bodies ; they only use them in beating thtir sides, and in whirling round.'' The females he states to be of a blond or pale brown colour : they build a nest with leaves of the palm-tree on a clear spot of ground, laying only one egg, larger than that of a goose. Tile weight of .the males is forty-five or fiHy pounds, and the flesh is, as he says, a delicacy. In this description one important point is omitted, that is, the hooded character of the head, well ex- pressed in the account alluded to in Herbert's Travels. I^gunt's figure is either very bad or his solitaire is distinct from the dodo. In the Voyage to the East Indies, by Jacob van Neck and Wybrand van Warwyk, 1598, the dodo is noticed as inhabiting the island of Cerne (.Mau- ritius); and De Hiy, in his description of the island of Cerne, says, '■ Cerulean parrots abound there, as well as other birds ; besides which is another kind, of large size, exceeding our swans, with vast heads, and one half covered with a skin, as it were, hooded. These birds are without wings, in the place of which are three or four black feathers. A few curved, delicate, ash-coloured feathers constitute the tail. These birds we called Walck-Vogel, because the longer or more slowly they were cooked, the worse they were for eating. Their breasts and bellies were nevertheless of a pleasaflt flavour, and easy of mastication ; but another cause for the appellation we gave them was the preferable abundance of turtle-doves, which were of a far sweeter and more grateful flavour." De Bry gives a figure in his frontispiece. Clusius, in his ' Exotica,' i605, gives a figure of this bird, taken from a sketch ad natu- ram, by a Dutch voyager, who had seen the bird in 1598. In the ' Voyage of Jacob Heemskirk and Wolfert Harmansz to the East Indies in 1601, 1G02, 1603,' and in Willem Ysbrantsz Bontckoe van Hoorn"s 'Journal of the East India Voyage, &c., in 1618 to 1624,' the dodo is noticed as inhabiting the Mauritius. Herbert, in his ' Tiavels,' 1634, describes and figures the dodo ; it is also described and figured well by Bontius, 1658. To this catalogue of autho- rities more might be added — but we vvill not weary our readers. Among the many descriptions of the bird by travellers and writers of credit, we will con- tent ourselves with that of Bontius. "The Dronte, or Dod-aere," he says, " is for bigness of mean size between an ostrich and a turkey, from which it partly differs in shape and partly agrees vi'ith them, especially with the African ostriches, if you consider the rump, quills, and feathers ; so that it was like a pigmy among them, if you regard the shortness of its legs. It hath a great, ill-favoured head, covered with a kind of membrane resembling a hood ; great black eyes ; a bending, prominent, I'at neck ; an extraordinary long, strong, bluish-white bill, only the ends of each mandible are of a different colour, that of the upper black, that of the nether yellow- ish, both shar()-pointed and crooked. It gapes huge wide, as being naturally very voracious. Itsbody is fat, round, covered with soft grey feathers, after the manner of an ostrich's ; in each side, instead of hard wing-feathei-s or quills, it is furnished with small, soft-feathered wings, of a yellowish ash-colour ; and behind, the rump, instead of a tail, is adorned with five small curled feathers of the same colour. It hath yellow legs, thick, but very short ; four toes in each foot, solid, long, as it were scaly, armed with strong black claws. It is a slow-paced and stupid bird,. and which easily becomes a prey to the fowlers. The flesh, especially of the breast, is fat, esculent, and so copious, that three or four dodos will some- times suffice to fill an hundred seamen's bellies. If they be old, or not well boiled, they are of difficult concoction, and are salted and stored up for pro- vision of victual. There are found in their stomachs stones of an ash-colour, of divers figures and mag- nitudes ; yet not bred there, as the common people and seamen fancy, but swallowed by the bird ; as though by this mark also nature would manifest that these fowl are of the ostrich kind, in that they swal- low any hard things, though they do not digest them." (Willughby's Trans!.) There is some reason to believe that a living dodo was exhibited in England in 1638. (See Sloane's MSS., No. 1839, .5, p. 108, Brit. Mus.) In the British Museum is preserved a painting of this bird, the copy of an original which was taken from a living specimen sent to Holland from Mau- ritius, while this island was held by the Dutch. This copy was the property of Sir Hans Sloane, and afterwai'ds of Edwards, by whom it was deposited in the Museum. As it agrees with other figures, namely, one in Clusius, one in Herbert's ' Travels," and one in Willughby's ' Ornithology,' taken from Bontius, we have every reason to rely upon it as an accurate representation. Formerly a perfect speci- men, noticed by Hay, existed in Tradescant's Museum. This specimen afterwards passed into the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, where it still existed as late as 1700; it subsequently fell to decay, the head and a foot alone remaining. A foot of this bird is preserved in the British Museum, and a breastbone in the Museum at Paris. We have now before us a cast of the head in thet Ashmolean Museum, and a most extraordinary head, it is: there is something greatly vulture-like in the whole of its conformation. For example, as we find in the vultures, it was evidently capable of being retracted within a hood or duplicature of skin thinly covered with downy feathers; the beak is stout, deep, and powerful, considerably elongated, and strongly hooked at the tip; its base is covered with an extensive cere, at the termination of which, near the edge of the upper mandible, are the nostrils ; the gape is wide, extending beyond the eye ; the skin of the throat was loose and thinly clothed, and the top of the head appears to have been naked, or only sprinkled with feathers. The measurements are as follow: — from the eye to the end of the beak, six inches; to the nostril, three inches ; breadth of the skull across the forehead, three inches and a quarter; mean depth of beak, two inches and a ([uarter. Though we say the head is vulture-like in its contour, we would guard ourselves from the assertion that it was to the vulture family the dodo belonged, as M. Blainville and some naturalists con- tend : other parts of its structure, to judge from the painting and the descriptions of early travellers, militate against such a supposition. Cuvier refera it to the gallinaceous order. Unfortunately we have no means of coming to a positive conclusion ; but our impression is that it forms part of the group or order to which the true ostriches and apteryx also belong. Suddenly, and apparently about the middle of the seventeenth or beginning of the eighteenth century, the dodo disappeared. Nothing was heard of it ; and we only know that it does not now exist in the islands which abundant testimony proves it to have once inhabited. It is, in fact, extinct ; or, if it indeed survive, Madagascar is the most likely spot in which it lingers. We know, indeed, little of Madagascar, and have been recently astonished by the discovery of a species of monkey (Ceicopithecus albogularis) inhabiting certain districts of that island, which modern naturalists have strenuously asserted to be destitute of any true Simiae. In concluding this brief notice of the dodo we refer our readers to a paper by Mr. Duncan in the ' Zoological Journal,' which contains an admirable summary of its history. The following are figures of the dodo from differ- ent works :— Fig. 1818, the Dodo, from De Bry ; Fig. 1819, the same, from Clusius ; Fig. 1820, the same, from Herbert: Fig. 1821, the same, from Bontius; Fig. 1822. le Solitaire, from Leguat ; Fig. 1823, the Head of the Dodo, from a cast from the Oxford spe- cimen ; Fig. 1824, the Leg of the Dodo, from the specimen in the British Museum. Tai-sus four inches and a half; circumference four inches ; middle toe three inches. The subjoined letter from Professor Owen to Mr. Broderip is published in the ' Penny Cyclopajdia.* It is too important to be omitted : — " Whilst at the Hague," writes the Professor, " in the summer of 1838, I was much struck with the minuteness and accuracy with which the exotic spe- cies of animals had been painted by Savery and Breughel in such subjects as 'Paradise,' 'Orpheus charming the Beasts,' &c., in which scope was al- lowed for grouping together a great variety ol ani- mals. Understandini; that the celebrated menagerie of Prince Maurice had afforded the living models to these artists, I sat down one day before Savary's ' Orpheus and the Beasts,' to make a list of the species which the picture sufficiently evinced that the ar- tist had had the opportunity to study alive, .ludge of my surprise and pleasure in detecting in a dark corner of the picture (which is badly hung between two windows) the Dodo, beautifully finished, .show- ing for example, though but three inches long, the auricular circle of feathers, the scutation of the tarsi, and the loose structure of the caudal plumes. In the number and proportions of the toes, and in general tbrm, it accords with Edwards's oil-painting in the British Musum; and I conclude that the miniature must have been copied from the study of a living bird, which it is most probable formed part of the Mauritian menagerie. " The bird is standing in profile, with a lizard at its feet. Not any of the Dutch naturalists to whom Bustards.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 15 I applied for information respecting the picture, the artist, and his subjects, seemed to be aware of the existence of this evidence of the dodo in the Hague collection. " I think I told you that ray friend Professor Eschricht, of Copenhas;en, had written to inform me that the skull of a dodo had been lately discovered in the museum at Copenhagen : it had before formed part of the museum of Duke of Gottoip." In Nov., 1S39, Professor Owen, at a meeting of the Zool. Soc, exhibited the thigh-bone of an extinct bird of the struthious order, from New Zealand ; since which period he has received numerous addi- tional specimens and almost entire skeletons, proving that several races of birds (five distinct species), one of which was of gigantic stature, have till a com- paratively recent period existed in that island, where the apteryx, their pigmy representative, is soon, per- haps, about to follow their fate. The bones are not truly fossilized, but still contain much animal mat- ter. At a recent meeting of the Zool. Soc, Profes- sor Owen brought the specimens in question before the scientific world, and entered into elaborate de- tails respecting their anatomical peculiarity. To the extmct genus of birds in question he gave the title of Dinornis. Of the five presumed species, three were respectively named D. giganteus, D. struthioides, and D. didiformis ; of these the first must have stood at least ten feet six inches in height, and probably more. They appear to have been all wingless. Professor Owen assigns the extinction of these birds to a period shortly after the occupation of New Zealand, perhaps till then untrodden by the foot of man, by the Malay race, of which the New Zealanders are an offset ; and as these birds pre- sented to the wanderers (driven perhaps on the coasts of that island by storms) the only large ani- mals which could serve as food, he argues, with much reason, that the improvident extinction of these birds, and the consequent failure of food, led to that practice of cannibalism tor which the New Zealanders have been notorious. The preservation of the apteryx, after the destruction of its relatives (for they belonged to the family Apterygidae), he justly attributes to its much smaller size, but especi- ally its nocturnal and burrowing habits. (November, 1843.) We have here, then, within human records, perhaps two species of Dodo and five of Dinornis obliterated by the agency of man from the cata- logue of living animals. ORDER GRALLATORES. Thk word Grallatores, which literally means Stilt- walkers, is synonymous with the French term les Echassiers, which Cuvier has given to the present order, and which is in truth very applicable to the birds in general compreliended in it. It has by many naturalists been termed the Wading order, a ■title which is correct as respects the greater number of groups, but not all. The birds of this order, says Cuvier, are characterized by want of feathers at the lower part of the thighs and the elevation of the tarsi, two circumstances which permit them to wade to a certain depth without wetting their plumage, and thus to procure fish by means of their neck and beak, the length of which is generally proportionate to that of the legs. Such as have the beak strong live on fish and reptiles; those in which it is feeble, on worms and insects. A few feed partially on grains and herbage, and these live at a distance from water, frequenting open plains, downs, and extensive commons. The order Gral- latores is very extensive, and contains a variety of forms, from the bustards to the snipes and rails, differing no less in habits and instincts than in ex- ternal and internal characteristics. Family OTID^ (BUSTARDS). The bustards are peculiar to the Old World, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and have the body stout, the wings moderate or ample, the neck and legs long, the beak short, conical, and compressed : three shoit stout toes entirely united at their base, but no 1825, 1826, 1827.— The Great Bustard {Otis Tarda). Outarde of the French; Starda of the Italians ; Der grosse Trappe, Trappgans, and Akentrap of the Germans ; Abutarda of the Spa- niards; yr Araf Ehedydd of the Welsh. (Hg. 1827, Female.) This noble bird, which was once common in our island, is now rarely to be seen, except, we believe, in the weastern part of Norfolk ; it is true that it oc- casionally makes its appearance on the wide plains and commons, in various parts of the country, as Salisbury plain, Newmarket heath, and North Stow heath in the neighbourhood of Bury St. Edmunds, but unfortunately its presence attracts observation, and observation in such a case is generally followed by active measures conducing to its destruction. In Spain and the plains of Greece, in some parts of Russia, and on the wilds of Tartary, it is common ; it is occasionally seen in some parts of France, very rarely in Italy. The male bustard weighs from twenty-five to thirty pounds, and measures about three feet three inches in length. The female seldom exceeds one- third of the size of the male. Grain, various grasses, the tender leaves and sprouts of turnips, insects, worms, frogs, &c., constitute their food. In the adult male there exists a membraneous pouch beneath the skin on the fore-part of the neck, having an en- trance to it under the tongue ; it is of considerable capacity, being capable, according to Pennant, of containing seven pints of water : it has been, indeed, supposed by some that the use of this sac is for car- rying a supply of water, either for its own use or that of the female and her young ; but as the male takes no care of the brood, and as no water has ever been found in this pouch, this supposition is unte- nable. Its use, in fact, is not known. ! The bustard runs very swiftly, and we have ac- j counts of its having been chased by dogs, which we can readily credit, because a good greyhound would I press so hard as not to allow the bird the time of preparation for taking wing, should he come upon it by surprise. On the other hand, however, we agree with Mr. Selby, who says, " Upon being dis- turbed, so far from running in preference to flight, as has been often described, it rises upon wing with great facility, and flies with much strength and swiftness, usually to another haunt, which will sometimes be at the distance of six or seven miles. It has also been said that in former days, when the species was of common occurrence, it was a practice to run down the young birds, before they were able to fly. with greyhounds, as aft'ording excellent di- version. So far from this possibility existing with respect to the present remnant of the bird, the young birds upon being alarmed constantly squat close to the ground, in the same manner as the young of the lapwing, golden plover, &c., and in , this position are frequently taken by the hand : in- i deed, this is even the habit of the female at the time of incubation." In the ' Booke of Falconrie ' (1611) the bustard is mentioned as affording what was termed the "great flight,' together with the crane, wild goose, bittern, heron, &c., a proof in favour of Mr. Selby's observa- tion, that it gives preference to the wing when alarmed. In the winter the bustard associates in small flocks, which traverse the country in search of food, and visit turnip-fields for the sake of the leaves, to which they are very partial ; in severe weather they seek sheltered situations, and often resort to the maritime districts. The eggs of the bustard are two in number, as is usual with the birds of this family ; the female forms no definite nest, but deposits them on the ground in a slight depres- sion made to receive them, generally in extensive corn-fields; they exceed in size those of the turkey, and are of a pale brownish olive, with darker blotches. Incubation lasts four weeks, and the young as soon as excluded follow their parents, but are unable to take wing for a considerable period. As an article of food the flesh of the bustard is in high estimation ; it is dark in colour, short in fibre, and of fine flavour. In its wild state the bustard is very shy, so as not to be approached within gun-shot, unless markings of black ; under parts white, a tinge of yellow occupying the chest. Tail white, at the base, passing into yellowish brown, with- one or two black bars. The female is destitute of the moustache-feathers, and the head and neck have a deeper tint of grey than in the male. Gular pouch wanting. 1828. — The Black-headed Bustard (0/i.s mjgricepn). This fine species is a native of India, and is very generally spread : it occurs in the Himalaya Mountains, and is figured by Mr. Gould in his ' Century of Birds' from that elevated chain According to Colonel Sykes, it is so common in the Dukhun, "that one gentlemen has shot neaily a thousand." It is gregarious, and the male is fur- nished with the remarkable gular pouch found in the Otis Tarda. Its flesh is excellent. The food of this spieces was found by Colonel. Sykes to consist almost exclusively of grasshoppers. In the male the body above is of a pale bay, lightly undulated with rufous brown. Neck, a few spots on the wings and under parts, white. The head, which is crested, the outer wing-coverts, the quills, and a large mark on the breast, black. Length fifty-six inches and a half. The female resembles the male in plumage, but is only forty-one inches and a half in length. 1829. — The Leaden-tinted Bustard {Otis ccBrulescens). This species is a native of the plains of South Africa, where it was discovered by Le Vaillant. Its habits and manners are those of the family generally. The summit of the head is marked with black and reddish zigzags, straight, and nearly approximated. Above the eyes extends a large whitish band, punctured as it were with brown; plumes near the ear-opening of a clear ruddy colour. Under the neck a semicircular band of pure white ; and below, another twice as large, of deep black. Front of the neck, breast, and all the other lower parts of a lead colour. All the upper parts of the body of a reddish or yellowish brown, marked with black zigzags and dots very near together. Lower coverts of the wings and tail-feathers unspotted, ruddy. End of the tail black, tinged with brown. Quills black. Feet yellowish green. Bill brown, yellow at the base. Length tvyenty inches ; height, when erect, seventeen inches six lines. 1830. — The Kori Bustard, Head of {Ot'is Kon). This magnificent bird is a native of Southern Africa, and was found by Burchell on the banks of the Gariep. "We shot," he says, " a large bird of the bustard kind, which was called Wilde Paauw (Wild Peacock). This name is here very wrongly applied, as the biid to which it properly belongs difters from this in every respect. There are, indeed, three or perhaps four birds to which, in different districts, this appellation is given. The present species, which is called Kori in the Sichuana language, measured, in extent of wing, not less than seven feet, and in bulk and weight was almost greater than some of the people could manage. The under part of the body was white, but the upper part was covered with fine lines of black on a light chesnut-coloured ground. The tail and quill-feathers partook of the general colouring of the back ; the shoulders were marked with large blotches of black and white, and the top of the head was black ; the feathers of the occiput were elon- gated into a crest, those of the neck were also elongated, loose, narrow, and pointed, and were of a whitish colour marked with numerous transverse lines of black. The irides were of a beautiful pel- lucid, changeable, silvery, ferruginous colour. Its body was so thickly protected by feathers that our largest-sized shot made no impresssion ; and, taught by experience, the hunters never fire at it but with a bullet. It is reckoned the best of the winged game in the country, not only on account of its size, but because it is always found to abound in fat. The meat of it is not unlike that of a turkey, but is certainly superior as possessing the flavour of game. We may here mention the Otis Tetrax and the Otis Houbara as European species of this group ; snoii sioui IOCS euureiy uiuteu ai iiieir uasf, uui iiu i so as noi TO DC appruaciieu wuMiEi f^uM-ain^t, ....,c=.:, ,„..--- „,.o „,.„„,.,.on,.<. in nnr islnnri tfip hind-toe. , They frequent wide plains, extensive [i with great caution : it always selects for its place of N he former of la^^^^ downs, and open lands dotted with patches of shrub by vegetation. Their food consists of tender herbage, grain, and insects. They run with extreme rapidity, and unless closely pursued, seldom take wing; when obliged to rise, their flight is direct and rapid. They are shy and watchful, and not to be approached, without some difficulty. In their habits they are po- lygamous. The females quit the society of the male previous to laying egus, and they make their nest and incubate alone. The moult of these birds is stated to take place twice in the year. The males not only exreed the females in size, but are distin- guished by a richer style of colouring. The young males of the year resemble the females, and the adult males, it is believed, lose in winter their orna- mented livery, and nearly resemble the females. repose the centre of the largest inclosure, or if the country be open, that part of the plain where it will be most secure from the danger of a surprise. Those which have been kept in confinement, though tole- rably tame towards persons with whom they were familiar, have exhibited both distrust and ferocity towards strangers. All attempts to breed these birds in captivity have failed. In the male bustard, from each side of the cheeks, near the lower mandible, arises a tuft of long wiry feathers with loose barbs. The fore part of the neck over the pouch is destitute of feathers, the skin beinc bluish black. The head and back of the neck are bluish grey ; a longitudinal streak of black oc- cupies the top of the head. The upper surface is of a fine orange buff, barred with zigzag transverae | latter as rare within the borders of Europe, but common in Baibary. Arabia, Persia, &c., where the natives employ hawks in the chace of it, and enter with enthusiasm into the sport. (See vol. i. p. 270.) In India, where there are several species, these bus- tards are commonly termed Florikens. Family CHARADRIAD^ (PLOVERS). In this comprehensive group the legs are long, the toes short, the hinder generally wanting or minute, and the wings long and powerful. Sandy unbhel- tered shores and exposed commons or moois are their chief haunts ; they congregate in flocks, and run with great swiftness: the head is thick; the eye full and large ; the bill short, with the basal half soft, the apex often swollen : the habits often ina.— Hnd of Kari niiniinl. lllZ7 — firnil Hnttard. Fraialr. IS2!I.— Uiulcn tiDted BuiUtd. 1828.— Klax^k-heided Buurd. ]a:iJ.— Gteal Busuni. 1826.— Great llustanl. Male. 1831, iasp. 1 Thick-kBM. 1832.— Common Thlck-knw. ll33^He«d and Foot of Thi«k-knM. 16 iaS7.— DoltereL lg40. — Head and Foot of Grey Plover. 1844.— TuTCjtone. IH42.— Head and Foot of fiapving 1818.— Qny Plonr. t^H'C^^-^ 1834.— Golden Plover. %,/. ■r ■■ l^l'Af lfl43.— Spar-win^ Plover. 1839. — Grey Plover. IH3J.— Ooldeu PUner. No. 53. Vol II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 17 18 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Plovers. nocturnal. The number of eggt laid by the Temalea if generally four, sometime* two. Most are subject to a kpring and autumn moult, and the Mimmer livery Jitfer* from that of winter. 1831, 1832.— Tub Common Thick-k:»kk ((Edicnemus crepitant). Le grand Pluvier ou Courii* de Terre of the French ; Gran Pivieri, Cur- lolte, Ciurlul, and Ciurlovl of the Italianii ; Grower Brachvopel of the Germans ; y glin-Biaff of the VVel»h; Tliick-kneed Bustard, Stone-Curlew, and Norfolk Plover of Enc'is-h writer*.. Wide downs and commons, uplands, and sheep- walk* are the favourite resorts of this bird, where it makes its appearance in March or April, in small flocks, which are very shy, flying round in wide circles if disturbed from their repose. They run along very nimbly, with the head poked forwards; and squat amongst loose stones and the irregularities of broken ground, where the colour of the objects •bout favours their concealment. In Hampshire, Norfolk, Suff"olk, Sussex, &c., this bird is tolerably common. In Germany, as in England, it is migra- tory. It is found in Southern Europe, generally in India, North Africa, Egypt, the Greek Archipelago, and Turkey. Though the Thick-knee is wary and watchful by day, and readily takes alarm, this is in reality its resting time, and it is at night that it rouses up in pursuit of food. As the dusk of evening appi caches, it begins to utter its loud piping note, and trips over the dewy grass, picking up worms, insects and young frogs, which form its cnief diet. The Thick- knee, like the bustard, makes no nest, but deposits its eggs, two in number, on the bare earth, in lallow land or spots of ground where flint stones are scattered about, spotting as it were the earth, and favouring the concealment of the female and her progeny, whose plumage assimilates with the chequered and mottled appearance of the surface which she has selected. The eggs are of a light yellowish brown, with darker streaks and blotches. The young af\er exclusion immediately follow their parents, and are then covered with a mottled grey down, which gradually gives place to the proper plumage, and in six weeks or two months they are capable of flying and of providing for themselves. In the autumn, after the breeding season, the flocks which had scattered themselves in pairs over the downs, and the young they have reared, assemble all together, forming larger or smaller flocks, and prepare to take their departure, quitting our latitudes for a more congenial climate ; and in October few, if any, are to be seen in the localities previously tenanted, and where at night their loud call had resounded " familiar to the shepherd's ear." The general plumage of this bird is of a reddish ash above, each feather having a central streak of umber brown ; neck and chest yellowish white, streaked with umber brown : throat and under parts white ; quills black ; base of the bill bright yellow- ish ; naked skin round the eyes; iris and legs fine yellow. Length sixteen inches. In the genus (Edicnemus the bill is strong and nearly straight ; the nostrils longitudinal, and pierced through and through the horny part of the middle of the upp«r mandible ; the tarsi long, and thick at the joints : the toes are three, all before, and united as far as the second joint by a membrane which skirts their edges ; wings rather ample. Mr. Gould considers that this genus connects the plovers to the bustards. Five or six species are known. Fig. 1833 represents the Head and Foot. 1834, 1835.— The Golden Plover {Charadrius pluvialis). In the genus Charadrius the bill is slender, straight, compressed, and shorter than the head ; the nasal furrow is prolonged, and the mandibles are enlarged towards the tip. Toes three, all directed forwards, and the external united to the middle by a short membrane. Eyes large, nocturnal. Fig. 1836 represents the Head and Foot of Chara- drius. The Golden Plover (Pluvier dorft of the French) is a bird of passage, spread over Europe, Western Asia, and portions of North Africa. In North Ame- rica its place is supplied by an allied species (Ch. Virginiacus, Borkli), and by the C. marmoratus in the eastern parts of Asia. Though the golden plover breeds in the British Isles, it is only to be found in the southern districts during the winter, at which seai>on the numbers of our native birds are increased by arrivals from more northern latitudes — all, be it observed, clad in their ; wintry livery, which difi'ers remarkably from that of the summer. Heathy swampy moors and wild hilly districts are ( the haunts of this species, where it breeds ; its nest consists of a few fibres and stems of grass, placed in some depression of the ground amidst the heath. The eggs, four in number, are of a cream yellow, with a tinge of green, blotched and streaked with nmber brown. The young, when first excluded from the egg, are covered with a beautiful parti-coloured down of bright kings yellow and brown. They are very active, and follow the parents, who sedulously attend them, and not only display great anxiety in their protection, but put in practice the most inge- nious artifices in order to draw oft' man or dog from the spot where they lie crouched ; they will flutter along as if lame and unable to take wing, a few feet before the intruder, and, attracting his attention, give him as it were hopes of soon being able to effect a capture, till having effected its object, up it mounts, leaving him to gaze "in silent wonder lost." In the same manner they protect their eggs, the female always running to a considerable dis- tance from the nest, and even meeting the intru- der, long before he would approach the spot, before employing her parental stratagems. The young are able to fly in a month or five weeks, and joining other broods, with their parents form' large flocks, which quit .the hilly districts of the north, and make their way to the open downs bor- dering our southern coasts. About the beginning of April the flocks return northwards, gradually break- ing up, and at last resolving into paii-s, which soon fix upon a breeding-spot. The cry of the plover isa plaintive monotonous whistle, more varied in the breeding season, by the imitation of which the bird may be enticed within a short distance. The flight of this species is rapid and vigorous, and during the spring and summer generally at a great elevation ; while it sails round and round performing most graceful evolutions. Night is the feeding-time. When reposing during the day, the plover rests either crouched on the ground or standing on one leg with the head drawn down between the shoul- ders. Insects and their larvae, slugs, worms, &c., constitute their diet, for which they frequent fallow lands in the autumn, becoming very fat, and are highly esteemed as one of the luxuries of the table. In the southern countries of Europe this species winters in countless multitudes. In autumn and winter the Loncfon markets are abundantly supplied with golden plovers. The summer plumage of this species, assumed in spring, is of a deep black above, each feather having triangular marginal spots of golden yellow ; fore- head and space above the eyes pure white, as are also the sides of the neck and chest, but spoiled with black and yellow ; throat, front pf the neck, and under parts deep black. As winter comes on the black of the neck and under parts is lost ; the upper surface is sooty black, largely vaned with fine golden yellow ; the sides of the head, neck, and chest are varied with ashy brown and yellowish spots ; throat and under parts while. Length ten inches and a half. Fig. 1834, Summer dress ; Fig. 1835, Winter dress. 1837. — The Dotterel (Charadrius Morinellus). Le Pluvier guignard of the French ; dcr Dumme Regcmpfeifer of the Ger- mans ; Piviere toitolino of the Italians. Though the Dotterel certainly breeds on the Grampians, on Skiddaw, and other mountains in the northern portion of our island, yet it must be consi- dered rather in the light of a visitor to our shores than a permanent resident ; its great breeding-places are the high latitudes of Russia, Lapland, and Northern Asia. It breeds also on the bare plateaux of the Norwegian mountains, and in Bohemia and Silesia, at an elevation of four thousand eight hun- dred feet. The eggs are light olive brown, blotched and spotted with black. In the autumn vast flocks of the dotterel on their way from the north to the warmer regions of southern Europe visit our island, and a similar visit is paid in spring by the flocks on their return from the south to their northern breeding-places. With respect to its general habits, the dotterel closely agrees with the golden plover; it has been accused, indeed, of excessive stupidity — but for no other reason than because, fresh from the wilds un- trodden by man, it has not experienced persecution. Its flesh in the autumn is excellent. It undergoes a chfHige of plumage analogous to that of the golden plover. 1838, 1839.— The Grey Plover (Squalarola cinered). In the genus Squatarola we see the rudiment of a hind-toe ; the tarsi are reticu- lated. Nasal groove wide. Fig. 1840 represents the Head and Foot of Squatarola. The grey plover istheVanneau vari6, Vanneau gris, and vanneau Pluvier of the French. The plumage of this species undergoes a similar change to that of the golden plover, and indeed so much do the two birds resemble each olher, that were it not for the presence of a minute hinil-loe in the grey plover, and for the long black leatheis which are found underneath the wings near the body, one might be easily mistaken fur the olher. The grey plover is spread over all the temperate countries of Europe, and Asia during the winter, re- tiiiug in summer to the regions of the arctic circle to breed. It has been observed in Japan. It isalso common in North America, breeding in the far countries of the north. According to Dr. Richard- son it is the Toolee-areeo or Tooglie-aiah of the Esquimaux. Captain J. Ross found il breeding near the borders of the marshes in considerable numbers, immediately to the south-west of Fury Point. This species viMts our island, but not in great numbers, during its southward migration in autumn, and upon its return northwards in spring, and a few small flocks sometimes remain with us during the winter, frequenting oozy bays and the mouths of rivers along the coast. Worms, insects, small shell-fish, and Crustacea, with various berries in summer, consti- tute its food. The flight is powerful and circling; it also runs with great celerity; its cry is similar to but not quite so shrill as that of the golden plover. The flesh is excellent, and in high esteem. It is the Tringa Helveticaof Linnaeus; Squatarola Helvetica of Gould ; and the Charadrius Africarius of Wilson. The young is the Tringa varia of Linnaeus. A second species, Squatarola cincta, was brought by Captain P. P. King, R. N., from the Straits of Magellan. 1841.— The Lapwing ( Vanellus cristatus). Le Vanneau of the French ; Paoncellaof the Italians; Gehaiibte Kieboz of the Germans; De Kievet of the Netherlanders ; Wype, Peesweep, and Peewit, Provincial English ; Corn- chwigel of the Welsh. Fig. 1842 represents the Head and Foot. In the genus Vanellus the hind-toe is more de- veloped than in Squatarola, and the head is orna- mented either with a crest, or with fleshy wattles and protuberances about the base of the beak, as in many foreign species; many also have the carpal joint of the wing armed with a sharp spur, often of considerable length. "These birds," says Selby, " are the inhabitants of open grounds and plains, particularly where the soil is of a moist nature, leeding on worms, insects, larvae, &c. They are subject to the double moult. But their vernal change of plumage is not attended with any remarkalue difference of colour." Ttie wings are ample. The geographical distribution of the lapwing is very extensive ; it is spread over the whole of Europe and a great part of Asia ; it occurs in collec- tions from India, North Africa, and Japan. In our island it is abundant wherever moorland tracts in- vite its abode. Here it breeds, depositing four eggs in a loose nest made with a few straws or stalks of grass, in a slight depression of the ground. The eggs are of a fine olive green blotched and marked with brownish black. Great numbers of these, known as " plovers" eggs," are annually brought into the London market, and, being accounted delicacies, sell at a good price. They are collected in Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. When the fe- male is driven from her eggs, she runs for a consi- derable distance, and then flies low near the ground, uttering not a single cry : in the mean time the male flies round the intruder and clamorously reiterating the syllables pee-tt-eef, endeavours by various arts to draw off his attention from the female, and the spot where the nest is placed. When first hatched the young are covered with a parti-coloured down of yellow and brown, and follow their parents, who not only defend them with courage against birds of prey, but employ every stratagem to divert men or dogs from their retreat, feigning lameness, and fluttering and tumbling in the path before them. When the autumn commences, the lapwings assemble in vast flocks, composed of old birds and the young of the year; and as the cold sets in, gradually withdraw from the inland moorlands, visiting the districts near the sea and the mouths of rivers; frequenting fallow-lands, turnip-fields, and low oozy grounds, where, in the more southern parts of our island, they appear to remain all the year, unless the mid-winter be a season of more than usual severity, when they pass still more southward. In February or the be- ginning of March these birds revisit the moorlands, and scatter abroad in pairs. At this season their flight IS very singular: they perform a variety of fantastic evolutions (more especially the males), sometimes darting upwards, then suddenly sweeping downward.s, and describing an abrupt and mazy couree with many turnings; during this flight of ex- ultation they incessantly utter a variety of notes very different Iromtheirmonotonousmelancholy pee-weet, wliile the loud whizzing of their long pinions is dis- tictly audible. In the autumn the flesh of the peewit (or wype, as it is called inlhe'Norlhumberland Household-Book') is excellent, but, as might be expected, it is dry in the summer. Mr. Selby considers it to be the bird called Egret (from its ciest or aigrette), of which one thousand were seived up at ttie famous feast of Archbishop Nevil. Slugs, worms, and insects, con- stitute the diet of this bird, for the destruction of Cur KWS.j MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 19 which it is sometimes kept in gardens, and becomes very tame. The lapwing is very beautiful. The head is black glossed with green, and an elegant crest of long slender black feathers, turned slightly upwards, rises from the occiput ; the throat is black ; the upper parts are greenish black with purple and blue reflexions; the chest and under parts are white ; the tail is white at the base, then black, with white at the tip. Length thirteen inches. 1843. — The Spur-winged Plover (Pltivianus spinosus. Gould). Charadius spinosus, Linn.; Philomachus spinosus, Msehr; Hofopterus spinosus, Bonaparte. In this genus (whichever name be adopted) the legs arc long, slender, and naked a great distance above the tarsal joint ; there is no hind-toe, and the external and middle are united by means of a basal membrane ; wings very Jong and pointed, and armed with a sharp spur. This species is common in Greece, Egypt, and Senegal. It is occasionally seen in Italy ; it occurs in some parts of Russia, and is abundant in the neighbourhood of Aleppo. It is a noisy bird, and, as Latham says, is continually moving the head and neck as if making repeated bows. The top of the head is black, and furnished with a rather short occipital crest, capable of being depressed or raised at will. The upper surface is greyish brown; the greater coverts are white ; the quills black ; the sides of the face and neck, the back of the latter, the flanks, the thighs, the tail-coverts and base of the tail are white ; the part of the neck from the bill, and the chest, under parts, and terminal half of the tail are jet black. Length eleven inches. 1844. — The Turnstone {SUrepsilas Interpres). Tringa Interpres, Linn. ; Monnella collaris, Meyer; Strepsilas collaris. We agree with those naturalists who place the genus Strepsilas within the family Charadrise, and not among the Scolopacidae, with their finger-tipped bills. In Strepsilas the beak is of moderate length, strong, compressed, acutely pointed, and slightly turned upwards ; nasal depression elongated • wings acuminate ; hind-toe very small. There is not a part of the globe, from Nova Zembla and the shores of the Arctic to the Cape of Good Hope, from the shores of Hudson's Bay to the straits of Magellan, which is not visited by this species — Japan, Sunda. the Moluccas, Xew Guinea, and New Holland, Europe, Asia, Africa, constitute its range. It breeds in the high northern latitudes, in Norway and Siveden, and also, it is said, in the Shetland Isles ; in June and in August it begins its southern progress, returning northwards in spring. Mr. Hew- itson found its nest on the coast of Norway placed against a ledge of rock, and consisting of nothing more than the fallen leaves of the juniper-bush, under a creeping branch of which the eggs, four in number, were concealed. Their colour was of an olive-green spotted and streaked with ash-blue, and two shades of reddish brown. In our island the tumstone is found from August to March or April ; it frequents the rocky and gravelly shore, feeding upon small molluscous animals, Crustacea, &c., in quest of which it turns over the stones along the water's edge, by means of its hard bill: it trips quickly along, and flies with great power and ra- pidity. In its progress to maturity the tumstone undergoes several transitions of colour before ac- quiring a permanent livery. When in perfect pluraase the upper parts are of mingled black and rufous; a black gorget on the chest passes up the sides of the neck and round the base ; lower part of the back white, as is also the basal half and extreme tip of the tail, the intermediate part being black ; a semilunar mark of dark fea- thers separates the white of the lower part of the back from the white tail-coverts ; under surface white ; a white spot between the eye and base of the beak is very conspicuous; legs orange-yellow. Length nine inches. 1845.— The Oyster-Catcher (Hcsmafopus ostralegvs). L'Huiterier, Pie de Mer, and Bccasse de Mer of the French ; Beccacio di Mare of the Italians ; Geschackte Austernfischer of the Germans ; Piogen y Mor of the Welsh ; Sea Pie, Pianet, Olive, Sea Woodcock, Chalder, &c., pro- vincial English. In the genus Haematopus the bill is long, hard, compressed, especially at the point, which is abrupt and chisel-iike.but not pointed ; nostrils longitudinal ; legs strong ; toes three, all directed forwards, bordered by the rudiment of a membrane ; and the external and middle toes united l)y a partial web at the base. The oyster-catcher is distributed over the whole of the European continent and a great part of Asia and Africa, frequenting the sea-shore, and is common on the low flat coasts of our island, where it breeds, laying its egcs on the bare ground amidst the •hingle, or such herbage as grows above high-water Vol. II. mark. The eggs, four in number, are pale olive- green blotched with brownish black. During incu- bation the male is always on the watch, and on the approach of an intruder utters a loud shrill whistle, as an alarm-call, upon which the female silently quits her eggs, and runs to a considerable distance before taking wing. Limpets, which it easily de- taches from the rock, mussels, oysters, and other mollusks constitute its food, in quest of which it wades amongst the shallows, or swims, which it does very easily, where the depth forbids wading. In the autumn, after the young have acquired their full growth, these birds assemble in large flocks, which separate into pairs on the recurrence of spring. The parents are bold in the defence of their young, which run about as soon as hatched, under the care of the former. In America the oyster-catcher is represented by an allied species, the H.palliatus, Temminck (H. ostralegus, Wilson). The oyster-catcher is a beautiful bird. The general plumage is glossy velvet black, with the exception of the lower part of the back, the base of the tail, transverse bars on the wings, and the under parts, which are white ; bill and circle round the eyes orange-red ; irides crimson ; legs deep purplish red. In winter there is a collar of white on the throat, and the black is less brilliant. 1846. — The Collared Pratincole (Glareola torquata). In many points the genus Glareola exhibits a great similitude (not affinity) to the swallows : the wings are long and pointed ; the tail is forked ; the power of flight extraordinary ; the bill is short, hard, compressed, and arched above ; hind-toe short. The Collared Pratincole is the Perdrix de Mer of Brisson ; das Rothfiissige Sandhuhn of Bechstein ; Siidliche Sandhuhn of Brehm ; and Pernice di Mare of Savi. Though a few instances are on record of this bird having been killed within the British Isles, it can scarcely be admitted within the catalogue of our Faima. It is a native of the eastern provinces of Europe on the Asiatic borders, and especially of Hungary, where extensive tracts of morass, and lakes, both fresh and saline, surrounded by low flat lands traversed by numerous rivers, afford food and security. In Western Tartary it is equally abundant. M. Temminck informs us that it breeds in Sardinia, and is numerous in Dalmatia, on the borders of the Lake Boccagnaro, on its spring passage ; and that in Hungary, among the immense morasses of the lakes Neusidel and Balaton, he has been in the midst of hundreds sweeping through the air in chace of their insect prey, and daiting along with arrow-like rapidity. Nor is it less remai kable for celerity on the ground, and often catches insects as it runs along. This graceful bird incubates amidst reeds, oziers, and the tall herbage of morasses. The eggs are four in number, of a yellowish white. In Germany, France, and Italy it is a bird of periodical occur- rence. Two species, the G. grallaria and the G. lactea, are peculiar to the eastern provinces of Asia and certain parts of Africa. None are American. The general colour of the collared pra- tincole is brownish grey above ; the throat is white with a tinge of reddish, banded by a narrow cres- centic line of black ; the upper tail-coverts are white ; the under surface dirty white ; the tail is forked, and brownish black ; the under wing-coverts are chestnut. Length nine inches and a half. Naked circle round the eye red. 1847. — -The Black-bellied Svviit-foot (Cursoriiis Temminchii). In the genus Cursorius the bill is moderately long, arched, and compressed, with the nostrils basal, oval, and with an oblong lateral opening; wings pointed; legs long; toes three, all anterior — the middle toe the longest, with a serrated claw. The birds of this genus are natives of Africa, inhabiting inland tracts at a great dis- tance from the sea. and .nmning along the ground with extraordinary rapidity. One species, the Cream-coloured Swift-foot (Curs. Isabellinus) has been a few times seen in our island, and once in France, and once in Austria. The black-bellied swift-foot is a native of Abyssinia. Its general plumage is creamy brown: the top of the head and the breast ferruginous; a double nucha] collar, the upper white, the lower I black ; sides of body white ; the quills and centre of the under surface black. Length eight inches. Family SCOLOPACID^ (CURLEWS, SNIPES, SANDPIPERS). The members of this family are all inhabitants of marshy lands, the borders of swamps, lakes, and rivers, and the shores of the sea. Their food con- sists of worms, slugs, aquatic mollusks, &c. ; (or this purpose their bill is at once a probe, a feeler, and an organ of prehension. Most of the genera, ob- serves Mr. Selby, procure food by thrusting the bill into the soft earth or the mud of the shore, whence they extract their prey. To facilitate Ihis operation an extraordinary development of nerve is distributed over the bill, but more especially concentrated at the tip, which is thus endowed with an exquisite sense of feeling, and the membiane of that part is often pulpy. In many species the bill is lurther provided with a peculiar muscle which operates so as to expand the pulpy points of the mandibles, enabling the bird, with the bill still buried in the ground, to seize its prey the moment it is felt. From this peculiar mode of searching for their prey, many- species, as the snipe, woodcock, &c., have been called birds of suction. The distribution of the Scolopacidae is very general, their powers of flight are considerable, and they are all more or less migratory in their habits. They incubate on the ground ; the eggs are four in number, of a peculiar form, being small and pointed at one end, large and obtuse at the other, and they are usually placed in the nest in a circle with the acute ends meeting in the centre, so as to occupy as small a space as possible. The flesh of many is in-high estimation. Fig. 1848, a Group of Scolopacidae, representing-.- a, the Curlew ; b, the Godwit ; c, the Purre or Stint. 1849.— The Curlew {Ntmenius arquatus). In the genus Numenius the bill is long, slender, curved, compressed, hard and subobtuse at the point ; the upper mandible exceeding the lower, rounded towards the end, and channelled for three-fourths of its length; nostrils lateral, linear, and pierced in the channel ; legs slender ; hind-toe small, touching the ground ; an- terior toes united by a membrane as high as the first joint ; wings moderate. The curlew is the Courlis of the French ; Chiar- lotto and Chiurle maggiore of the Italians ; der Grosse Krumschrablichte Schnepfe and Keilhacke of the Germans ; the Waup, Scotticfi ; Gylfinhr of the Welsh. The curlew is spread over every part of the Old World, from the torrid zone to the polar regions. It is found in India, China, Japan, and South Africa. In its habits the curlew is migratory, and during the winter collects in large flocks, which frequent the low oozy shores of the sea, easily perforated by their bills, which they plunge into the mud in .search of Ibod. It wades in the shallows, and, when out of its depth, swims with considerable facility. Few birds are more shy and wary than the curlew, and while on the wing it utters a clear whistle as the flock wheels round in wide circles through the air. In the high northern regions are the favourite breeding-haunts of the curlew, whither immense flocks repair early in the spring, but numbers con- tinue in our island, leaving the low shores and south- ern districts for the wild and heathy parts of the interior, the wilds of Northumberland, and the bleak Highlands of Scotland. Thenest consists of withered grass or rushes placed in a depression under the covert of heath or other herbage. The eggs, four in number, are of a pale olive-green, blotched with two tints of brown. The young, which are at first covered with a yellowish white down varied with dark spots and markings, are assiduously attended by their parents, who manifest great courage in their defence, sweeping round the head of the intruder, uttering a loud cry of courlis, courlis, in quick re- petition. In about six weeks the young are able to take wing. Three species of Numenius are natives exclusively of America 1850. — The Whimbrel {Numenius Phceopus'). Le petit Courlis or Courlieu of the French ; Chiurlo piccolo, Chiurlo minore, and Mengotto of the Italians; Regen Brachvogel and Kleiner Goisser of the Germans ; Coeg ylfinhir of the Welsh. Though the whimbrel visits our coasts and those of the adjacent continent in winter, in small flocks, it retires to the higher northern latitudes in the spring to breed, Zetland being the only locality within the British Islands where it has been known to incubate. The range of this species is as extensive, or nearly so, as that of the curlew, which species it closely resembles in its habits, manners, and style of colour- ing but is a much smaller bird, measuring only six- teen inches in length, of which the bill is three and a half; while the curlew exceeds two feet with the bill, which often measures six inches. Its flesh, like that of the curlew, is esteemed as well flavoured. An allied species, Numenius tenuirostris, is a native of southern Europe. The colouring both of the curlew and whimbrel is to well known to need a detailed description. 1851.— The Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa melanurd). Beak and Foot. In the genus Limosa the bill is very long, more or less curved upwards, soft and flexible, depressed at the apex, which is dilated and obtuse ; upper mandible fur- rowed ; legs long and slender ; hind-toe small ; outer and inner toes united by a basal web ; wings mode- rate. This species is the Grande Barge rousse of Bulfon ; D2 I84*.— Oirlnr. :84'i.— OolUred Pntincole. IM&.— OjnteMstcIier. IMS. — Gioap of Seolopacidz. IMl.— H«d and Leg of Soipt. IMC— Whimbrel. ISDI^Beak and FootorBUek-taUea GoJwlt. 20 1853.— Solitary or Great Snipe. 1 R j 5 , — Woodcock . 1861.— Raff. 18S9.— Rnir, in .Summer Plumage. 1898.— Rntr and Reeves. Vj?>'a; I6:*&— Woodcock. 18&7. — African painted Snipe. I860.— Buff in Winter Pliinia<>e. '2\ 22 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. fSNIPKS. the Red Godwit of Latham ; DunkclfuMieer Was- wrlaufer of Meyer ; Hoatoi; of the ancient Welsh. Tlie godwit (with other allied species) undergoes a double moult, which nearly changes the entire colour of the plumage, and has led to some con- tusion ; the young of the year differ from the adults. In it* winter plumage this bird is the Limosa melanura of Lesler, and the Jadrcka Snipe of Latham. In its spring uluniage it is the Scolopax Belgica and S. »gocepliala of Gnielin. The young of the year is the Totanus rufns of Bechstein. The female exceeds the male in size, but her colours are lev bright. The black-tailed godwit breeds in the high northen latitmles, but occasionally within the limits of the British Islands ; during the winter it is spread along the shores of the whole of Europe, and speci- mens have been received both from India and Africa. In England the present species is not very abundant at any period, though it breeds sparingly in some of our fens. During the winter it frequents oozy shores and the embouchures of rivers, and plunges its long sensitive bill into the mud m search of food, viz., marine insects and worms, &c. The nest is formed of dry grass and herbage, and the four eggs are of a lii;lit olive brown, dashed with a darker tint. Its flesh was formeriy in high esteem. Winter plum- age : — upper parts uniform brown ash, the shaft of each feather being of a darker tint ; rump blackish ; front of neck, the breast, and sides, bright grey ; under parts and base of tail-feathers, and also of the quill -feathers, pure white ; a broad belt of black across the tail-feathers of which the central are slightly tipped with white ; bill orange- yellow at the base, black at the tip. Spring Plumage : — Feathers of the top of the head blacK, bordered with bright red; throat and neck red, transversely striped with fine zigzag markings; upper part of the back and scapulars deep black, terminated with a band of red and bordered by spots of that colour ; wing-coverts ash ; lower part of the back and tail black ; under parts and base of quill- feathers white. Length fifteen inches. In the young the plumage of the upper parts is brown and blackish brown, greatly varied with red. 1848, b. — The Common or Red Godwit {Litnosa Tufa, Brisson) is closely allied to the pre- ceding, which it resembles in habits and manners, and extent of range, but may be distinguished by shorter legs, by the absence of white on the basal part of the quill-feathers, and by the tail- feathers being always distinctly barred. It is not known to breed in our island : its summer haunts are Iceland, Lapland, Sweden, and other northern countries. Both species fly very rapidly, and utter a singular cry while on the wing. The Prince of l^anino notices two species, distinct from either of the preceding, as peculiar to America. 1852.— The Snipe {Scolopax Gallinago.) In the genus Scolopax the beak is long, straight, compressed, and slender, but swollen, minutely dimpled, and pulpy at the tip ; the upper mandible is furrowed through half its length ; the nostrils are lateral, basal, and longitudinal in the commencement of the furrow. Legs slender, of moderate length ; wings pointed ; eyes large, and placed back in the head. The common snipe is the Bdcasseau bScassine and Chfevre voland of the French ; Beccacino and Piz- zarda of the Italians; Wald-schneppe of the Ger- mans ; Ysnittan y Finiar of the Welsn. The common snipe is widely spread over Europe and the adjacent parts of .A.sia, being everywhere a birtl of migratory habits ; though it must be observed that it breeds in our island wherever favourable lo- calities afford it shelter. It was found in consider- able numbers in the Orkneys, by the late Sir H. Davy (1817), in the month of August ; he observed that each nest contained two young birds, sometimes three, and describes the parents as exceedingly at- tached to their oftspring, adding that if any one ap- proach their nest, tliey make a loud and drumming noise over the head of the intruder, as if to divert his attention. The snipe has been known to breed also in Dorsetshire, in the New Forest, in Cambridge- shire, in Norfolk, in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The nest is made of dry grass or herbage rudely put together, and placed in some depression under the covert of heath, fern, or long rushes near water, in swampy spots, or on marshy hills. The eggs are comparatively large, of a greenish white, spotted at the larger end with different tints of brown. i In winter our homebred birds are joined by vast accessions from Norway and other northern parts of Europe, the greatest number arriving in the begin- ning of November. These are ever on the move from place to place, frequenting swamps, the margins of rivulets, and oozy meadows along streams and rivers, in quest of food ; this consists of worms, in- sects, &c., in order to obtain which they thrust their bill up to its base in the mud, and are guided by its exquisite sensibility. About the beginning of April the snipe calls to his mate, uttering a piping or clicking note, otlen re- peated, and accompanied at intervals by a humming noise, " apparently produced by the action of the wings, as the bird, whenever this sound is emitted, is observed to descend with great velocity, and with a trembling motion of the pinions. At this season it soars to an immense height, remaining long upon the wing; and its notes may frequently be heard when the bird itself is far beyond the reach of sight. These flights are performed at intervals during the day, but more commonly towards the evening, and are continued during the whole time that the female is engaged in incubation." Of the ordinary flight of this bird, of its excellence for the table, and of the coloui-s of its plumage, nething need be said. The Prince of Canino pa- rallels the Gallinago Wilsoni (Scolopax Gallinago, Wilson) of America with our European common snipe, to which it is very closely allied. 1853. — The Solitary or Gkeat Snipe {Scolopax major). Grande ou double B6cassine of the French; Beccacino maggiore of the Italians; Mittelschnepfe of the Germans ; Ysnid of the Welsh. This species, also called the Double Snipe, is a rare visitor to our shores, during its autumn pas- sage to the south, and also during its spring return to the northern regions, where it breeds. It is found in Norway, Sweden, and Germany, and visits the south of Europe, and the borders of Asia ; it occurs in the neighbourhood of the Caucasus. Unlike the common snipe, it is a bii-d of heavy and steady flight, and ollen becomes so fat in the autumn, as Mr. Lloyd experienced near Gothenburg, as to be scarcely capable of taking wing. Its flesh is delicious. This species is mostly found singly, occasionally in pairs ; but in some districts is very abundant, afford- ing excellent sport to the " chasseur." Sir H. Davy observed these birds breeding in the great marsh pre- serve near Hanover, and noticed that the larvae of the Tipulae (called Harry Longlegs) constituted the principal portion of their food. They breed also in Norway and Sweden, as liigh as the range of birch- woods extends. The nest resembles that of the com- mon snipe. During the pairing season they fly to a vast height, and produce a drumming noise as they descend by the vibration of their wings. According to Mr. Greiff, the male has his playing-ground (or lek), where he observed the birds running about, and uttering a singular sound resembling a smack of the tongue, followed by four or five smacks of a louder tone : this habit would lead us to suppose that the great snipe is polygamous, like the ruff (Machetes pugnax). In the great or solitary snipe the tail is composed of sixteen feathers ; middle of the first quill whitish : top of the head black, divided by a band of yellow- ish white ; stripe above the eye yellowish white ; upper parts variegated with black and bright rusty, the latter colours being disposed longitudinally ; under parts whitish rusty ; abdomen and sides striped with black bands ; bill inclining to reddish, brown at the point ; feet greenish ash. Length twelve inches. Females larger than the males. Weight from seven to nine ounces. 1854. — The .Jack Snipe {Scolopax Gallinvla). La Petite BScassine and Bficassine sourde of the French ; Moorschneppe of the Germans ; Judcock, provincial English. This species appears to be confined to Europe and Northern Asia, and is a periodical winter visitant to our island, making its first appearance about the second week of September. Early in March it quits our latitudes for the polar regions, where it breeds ; we believe that there is no authenticated instance of its having been known to incubate in any of our fens. The jack-snipe frequents oozy bogs and marshe." ; when flushed, it uttere no alarm-cry, and after a short direct flight drops in some miry spot, and is not to be easily roused again. This species is the smallest of the genus, being about half the size of the common snipe, and seldom exceeding two ounces and a quarter in weight ; but its flesh is ex- quisite. It is generally found solitary ; and, unlike the common snipe, having fixed upon one locality as its haunt, it seldom quits it for another, even though harassed by the sportsman. It sits very close, and will allow itself almost to be trodden upon before taking wing. The plumage of this bird is too well known to require a detailed description. ia55, 185G.— The Woodcock {Scolopax Rtisticola). Bfecasse of the French ; Beccaccia of the Italians ; Waldschnepfe of the Ger- mans ; Cvfiylog of the Welsh. Though the woodcock is a native of the northern latitudes of Europe and Asia, its migratory range is very extensive, extending to Italy, Madeira, Bar- bary, Greece, Aleppo, and Sgypt. It has been no> ticed in CHshmere and .Japan. It breeds in Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Siberia, &-c., and also in Switzerland and Great Britain. With respect to its breeding in our islands, we might cite numerous authentic instances on record, but the fact is too well established to require such labour. Wv may however refer to Montagu, Bewick, Selby, and Yar- rell, and also to Loudon's ' Mag. Nat. Hist." 1837, pages 121, 'Sfi, 439. What, however, seems very extraordinary is, that woodcocks have been known, when apprehensive of immediate danger, to carry off in their claws both the young and their eggs. (See a paper by Mr. Fairholm in the Magazine referred to, p. 3;JJ, and also a paper by a correspond- ent, p. 122.) It is stated in the latter that the Blue Harrier (Circus cyaneus) also removes the eggs, when the nest has been molested. The first flights of woodcocks from the north to our island generally occur towards the end of Sep- tember or the beginning of October ; but these flocks, after remaining a short time, wing their way to the mere southern regions of Europe, and northern Africa, a few stragglers only remaining behind, which are atterwards joined by other arrivals during the latter part of October, November, and Decem- ber. They generally come over in hazy weather with little wind, and that blowing Irom the north-east. Their favourite haunts are woods, moist thickets, close brakes, glens, and similar places, where they re- main concealed during the day, but as soon as dark- ness sets in they leave these retreats, and scatter themselves over moist meadows and swampy open grounds, where they search for food, namely, slugs, insects, and especially worms, thrusting their bill into the earth, and drawing forth their captives. The di- gestion of this bird is very rapid. Mr. Selby states that he had known one to consume within a single night more large earth-worms than half filled a garden-pot of considerable size. The nest of the woodcock is a loose structure of grass and leaves, in a depression among herbage and thickets, near the root of a tree or bush. The eggs are usually lour in number, of a pale yellowish white, blotched and spotted at the larger end with ash grey, and two shades of yellowish brown. During the pairing sea- son the birds often pursue each other on the ap- proach of dusk, circling the wood for an hour or two, and uttering a sharp but not very loud whistling note ; besides this the male often flies low on heavy and flapping wings, keeping up an incessant croak- ing, or rather purring noise, not unlike that of the spinning-wheel. As the season advances, these circling flights and noises are discontinued, " the low croaking and occasional whistle being," as a writer observes, " peculiar to the period of incuba- tion, like that singular noise made by the .snipe in spring, as it rapidly descends in the air during its circuitous flight over its native morass." We need not say that the woodcock is highly ce- lebrated for the exquisite flavour of its flesh. When, however, the spring change of plumage commences, it loses its delicacy, and becomes rank and worthless. The return of the woodcock to the regions of the north from our latitudes takes place in March, and by the middle of April all, save those that remain stationary with us, have disappeared. The female somewhat exceeds the male in size. 1857. — ^Thb African Painted Snipe {Rhynchwa Capensis). From the genus Scolopax are separated the painted snipes of Africa and India, which form the genus Rhynchsea ; they are charac- terized by the beak being slightly arched at the tip. Their habits and manners are those of the snipes generally. 1858, 185D, 1860, 1861.— The Ruff {Machetes pufjnax). Female, the Reeve. Le Cora- battant and Paon de Mer of the French ; Salsarola and Uccello muto of the Italians ; Streisschnepfe and Rampfhiihlein of the Germans; yr Ymladdgar of the Welsh. The genus Machetes was separated from Tringa by Cuvier for the reception of this remarkable species, celebrated for its combativeness and poly- gamous habits, no less than the singular changes of plumage which the male undergoes at certain seasons of the year. The ruff is generally distributed over Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia, and is a summer, not winter, visitant to our island, amving in April, breeding in our fens, and departing in autumn. An occasional straggler remains with us during the winter. In Holland it is very abundant. In England the fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridge- shire are its principal resort. It would appear that the males are the first to arrive at their destined station ; at all events they keep themselves in dis- tinct bands, separate from the females. .\s the breeding-time draws near, beautiful long plumes round the neck, forming a ruff, and large full ear- tufts, rapidly develop. The males now begin to hill, as it is termed — that is, they seek some spot a Sandpipers.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 23 little elevated above the surrounding marsn, to which, as to a common centre, numbers are gradu- ally drawn. Each individual selects its own station or little territory, for the possession of which it strenuously contends ; the attempt of a rival to encroach upon the circle is immediately followed by a hard-fought battle, the territory bemg ceded by the vanquished to the victor. These battles and contests are almost incessant, at least during the day ; for at night they all return to the marsh in order to feed (in this respect their habits being noc- turnal), but in the morning each resumes its station, and the contests are again carried on. Here, full of animosity against each other, and jealous of each other's rights, they await the arrival of the females. The arrival on the hill of one of the other sex is the signal for a general contest. The scene is now one of perpetual warfare, female after female arriving at the hill, so that " the theatre of these battles," as Selby observes, " soon becomes bare of grass from the constant traversing of the combatants." Not only have the neck and ear plumes now attained their perfection, but the face of the male becomes covered with small yellowish papillae, or fleshy ex- crescences, instead of the short feathers with which it is ordinarily clothed. During the whole of May and the early part of June this scene of warfare continues with unabated energy. The manner in which the ruff fights has much resemblance to that of the game cock; the head is lowered, the plumes are thrown up iuto a disc, the tail is expanded, and each adversary attempts to seize the other with his bill, following up his advantage by a blow with the wing. The contest is seldom fatal, the vanquished being rather wearied out and dispirited by the superior strength and determination of his antago- nist, than seriously injured. Towards the latter part of June this combativeness abates, the papillae on the face disappear, and shortly aiterwards the fine plumes are moulted off, their place being supplied by ordinary feathers. (Fig. 1860.) The females, or Reeves, which, as we nave inti- mated, only visit the hill at intervals, breed among the swamps. The nest consists of little more than a slight depression amidst a tuft of grass, rushes, or other herbage. The eggs are four in number, and closely resemble those of the snipe, but are some- what larger. In the group of Grallatorial birds, to which the present species belongs, the females usu- ally exceed the males in size ; here, however, the females are much smaller than the males, and more- over undergo no corresponding changes of plumage. With respect to the beautiful plumes which for a season ornament the ruff, one circumstance is very remarkable — namely, the diversity of their colour- ing : in no two examples is the colour precisely alike. We have seen them pure white ; white elegantly barred with black ; reddish brown intermixed with black, or barred and spotted ; pure glossy black ; grey and black, &c. It appears, moreover, that in no individual are these colours the same for any two seasons. The ruff is among the list of birds whose flesh is accounted as a delicacy for the table ; and consi- derable profit is made by various fowlers in the fens of Lincolnshire, who devote themselves at certain seasons of the year to the business of catching them and feeding them for sale. The means employed foi taking them are chiefly clap-nets, into which they are lured by various devices, one of which is a stuffed bird of their own species. The seasons for taking them are, first, April and May, when the males are hilling, and pugnacious in the extreme ; and, secondly, September, after the young are fully fledged and ready for the autumnal migration, when they, with the old birds, pass to more southern lati- tudes. Their natural food consists of worms, small insects, &c., with which the soft ooze or mud of the marsh abounds ; but they are easily reconciled to a change of diet, and feed eagerly upon bread and milk, boiled wheat, and other articles of a farina- ceous quality, upon which they thrive and become plump. Captivity, which subdues the spirit of most wild creatures, does not abate the pugnacity of the full-plumed males taken in the spring. Not only will the appearance of a reeve excite them to strife, but a bowl of food set before them will produce the same etfect, and lead to a tumultuous conflict, which, as the arena is very limited, and the weaker have no chance of escape, is sometimes known to result in fatal consequences. Of the variable colour of the neck and ear plumes we have already spoken. The rest of the colouring may be thus described :— The upper parts of the body are varied with a mixture of brown, pale yellow, and black ; the sides of the chests and flanks are barred with black on a pale yellow giound ; the under surface is white. In some individuals these tints are much darker than in others. The reeve in summer has the upper surface varied with glossy black on a cinereous grey ground ; in winter the colour becomes more uniform, losing the markings of black. 1862.— The Knot {Tringa canutus). Tringa cinerea, Temm. ; Cali- dris Islandica, Stephens ; Heccasseau Canut, Temm. ; Aberdeen Sandpiper, Pennant ; Red Sandpiper, La- tham. The birds belonging to the genus Tringa (in- cluding Calidris and Pelidna) form a numerous assemblage, chiefly tenanting saline marshes and the shore of the sea, though some frequent the margin of lakes and rivers at a distance from the borders of the ocean. They associate in flocks, and perform periodical migrations in large bodies. They undergo a double annual moult, the summer livery differing remarkably from that of the winter ; and the young, previous to the first moult, have a very different plumage from that of the adults. The food consists of worms, Crustacea, and small mollusks, obtained on the shores of the ocean during the recession of the tide, and as the bill is not so highly sensitive nor so well adapted lor plunging deep into the mud as in the snipes, they chiefly pick up their prev on the surface. ' The Knot (Mvuibechegrise of the French ; Chiurlo of the Italians; Aschgiaus Strandlaufer of the Ger- mans ; y Cnut of the ancient British) is a rare bird in Germany, France, and the south of Europe ; it breeds in the high northern latitudes of Europe and America, viz., Iceland, Greenland, North Georgian Islands, Melville Peninsula, Hudson's Bay, and the higher districts of Sweden and Norway. In autumn it visits Holland and the British Islands in great numbers, frequenting the shores of the sea, bays, inlets, and the mouths of rivers, where oozy grounds and muddy flats present an abundance of the minute bivalve shell-fish which constitute its principal food. The evolutions of the flocks on the wing are very interestine: and beautiful. The flesh of this bird is in high estimation. About the close of April the flocks desert our shores for their arctic breeding- places. The Knot lays four eggs on a tuft of grass or herbage, without forming any nest ; their colour is lisrht yellowish brown, spotted at the larger end with grey and reddish. In summer the plumage of the knot is rufous, or orange-brown varied with black, and with white edgings to the wing coverts : in winter it is changed to a brownish grey, the wing-coverts margined with white ; the under parts pure white, with brown lines on the breast, and transverse bars on the flanks, rump, and upper tail-coverts, which are white. Length ten inches. The upper figure represents the knot in summer plumage ; the lower, in winter plumage. 1863. — The Little Sandpiper (Tringa minuta). Minute Dunlin, Stephens ; Little Stint, Bewick ; Pigmy Sandpiper, Richardson ; Becasseau Echasses, Temminck ; Gambeccio of the Italians; der Hochbeinige Strandlaufer of the Ger- mans ; y Pibidd lleiaf of the Welsh. The Stint, or Little Sandpiper, is, with the excep- tion of the Tringa Temminckii, the smallest of the genus. It visits our shores in autumn, frequenting mudbanks and saline marshes, and is often seen in the great morasses of Holland ; it is common on the shores of the Lake of Geneva ; it is found in India, North Africa, Southwestern Asia, and the south of Europe, and must also be included among the birds of North America. Dr. Richardson saw numbers in autumn feeding during the recess of the tide on the extensive flats at the mouth of Nelson's and Haye's rivers ; and a specimen from Hudson's Bay is now in the British Museum. Where this species retires to breed is not ascertained ; probably the north-eastern partsof Europe, Northern Asia, and the highlatitudes of North America off'er it a summer abode. The tran- sitions it undergoes in the colouring of its plumage are similar to those of the Knot. The upper figure is a bird in summer plumage ; the lower figure to the left, the same in winter plumage ; the lower figure to the right, the young of the year. 1864. — The Dunlin or Purre (Tringa variabilis). Tringa Alpina, Fleming; Pe- lidna variabilis, Stephens ; Pelidna Cinclus, Cuvier; Tringa cinclus (winter plumage), Linn. ; L'Alouette de mer i Collier, Cuv. ; Becasseau Brunette ou variable, Temminck ; L'Alouette de Mer, Buffon ; Tringa ruficollis, Pallas The Dunlin is widely spread, being common over Europe, a great part of Asia, and North America. It is indigenous in Scotland, where it breeds upon the shingle at the mouths of rivers, among salt marshes near the coast, and in the bogs of the upland country. Its nest resembles that of the snipe. The eggs, four in number, are of a greenish grey spotted with brown. In autumn vast flocks from the high northern regions visit the shores of our island, where, as they sweep along, they perform singular evolutions, every individual, as if by some signal of command, simultaneously showing now the upper, now the under surface, which glance alter- nately, producing a singular and pleasing etfect. Sandy bays and oozy shores are their favourite resort ; and they run with great celerity and withasprijchtly carriage, often uttering a soft piping note while busily engaged in search of food, when in motion, they are in the constant habit of moving the tail up and down. Marine insects, worms, Crustacea, and minute shell-fish constitute their diet. On the wing they utter a weak scream. Their flight is easy and rajjid. Summer Plumage : — Upper parts black, each feather being deeply margined with clear reddish brown ; lower part of back brownish black ; wing- coverts brown margined with grey ; crown of head black; chin while; cheeks, throat, and breast black, each feather deeply margined with white ; under parts black ; flanks streaked with black. In winter the general tone of the upper parts of the plumage is ashy grey with a tinge of brown ; chin and throat white ; breast grey, with the shaft 6f each feather brown ; under parts wlfite ; wing-cove.'-ts brown margined with grey ; the larger coverts tipped with white ; two middle tail-feathei-s brown, the rest grey 1865. — The Marsh Sandpiper ( Totanus stagnatilis). This species, which is closely allied to the Green Sandpiper, the Redshanlis, &c., is a native of Northern Europe, where it frequents the borders of rivers, lakes, and marshes, whence in the autumn it migrates southwards, pursuing its course through the eastern provinces to the Medi- terranean, but does not frequent the maritime coasts of the ocean. It is abundant in Asia, and specimens killed in winter plumage have been received, accord- ing to Temminck, from the isles of Timor, Sunda, and New Guinea. The beak is long, weak, and awl- shaped, and its legs are elongated and slender. In summer its upper plumage is brown, with irregular black dashes ; the under parts white, with brown specks on the throat and breast ; tail striped diago- nally with brown bands. In winter the upper surface is of a nearly uniform ashy grey ; the under parts white ; legs olive-green. Length about nine inches. 1866.— The Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatxts, Bonap.). Totanus semipalraatus, Latham and Wilson. This species, separated as the type of a distinct genus, in consequence of the partial webs uiiiting the three anterior toes, is a native of America, and is only of accidental occurrence in Europe. " It arrives from the south, on the shores of the Middle States, about the 20th of April, and from that time to the last of July its loud shrill reiterations of pill-wiU-willet resound almost incessantly along the marshes. Like the other sandpipers, it breeds on the ground among the salt marshes near the coast, arranging a rude nest of rushes and coarse grass. The eggs are four in number, of greenish or bluish tinge blotched with blackish brown. The young are covered with grey down, and run about as soon as excluded from the shell, under the anxious care of the parents, who defend them much in the man- ner of our common lapwing, flying round the head of the intruder, and uttering a continued cry. When wounded, these birds take to the water, without hesitation, and swim with considerable facility. Small shell-fish, aquatic insects, &c., which the muddy shores afford in abundance, constitute their food. Summer Plumage :— Upper parts dark olive- brown streaked and crossed with waving marks of black, and sprinkled with touches of dull yellowish white ; wing-coverts light olive-ash, with whitish freckles ; primaries white at the base, black for the rest of their length ; tail-coverts white barred with olive; tail olive barred with black; breast cream- white mottled with olive ; under parts white ; legs pale lead-colour. Length fifteen inches. In winter the plumage above is pale dun streaked with dark brown ; the tail white. At this season the willet associates in large flocks, and, being accounted excellent for the table, aft'ords sport to the gunner. The female is generally larger than the male. In October and November the flocks leave the coasts of the Middle States for a more southern climate. Family RECURVIROSTRID^ (AVOCETS). The Prince of Canino divides the Avocets and Stilt-Plovers from the rest of the Waders, into a dis- tinct family group. 1867, 1868. — The Black-winged Stilt-Plover (Himantoprts melanoptenis). Charadrius himan- topus. Linn. ; H. rufipes, Bechst. ; H. atroptenis, Meyer; I'Echasse and I'Echasse ii manteau noir of the French ; Cavaliere grande Italiano of the Italians; Schwarzfliigeliche Strandreuter of the Germans ; Long-legged Plover and Long-shanks, English ; Cwttyn hlrgoes of the Welsh. The members of the genus Himantopus are re- markable for the extreme length and slenderness of the legs ; they are not numerous, but are distributed ISM.— Minb aindi'iper. 180« Willet, 1874. — Grey PhaUiope. Winter Plumage. 'y»~ 1872.— Bill and Foot of Red-necked Plialarope. 1673.— *tey Phalarope. Summer numage. 1S73.— Watet-RaU. 1875.— Coot. 1880.— Spotted Crake. 1876.— Moorhen. 18*7. — Hyaeinthine Gallinale. 1879 —Virginian Hail. No. 54. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 25 S6 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [PlIAIM-ROPKa. in every quarter of the globe. The nresent »peciei only occasionally occur* within the liiitish I»iand(, and i« equally ncarce and accidental in its visits in Holland and the northern parts of Europe. It is esjientially a native of the eastern parts of Europe, whence it is spread throughout Asia to Japan, in- cludiu'.; India and the Indian Islands and also from the north to the south of Africa. Accordiusj to the Prince of Canino. the two species found in America are l)olh distinct, and Mr. Gould has described the tpecies found in Australia and Java as different, under the title of II. leucocephalus. "The Loni;-lei:ged I'lover, as its conformation would lead 111 to conclude, is a bird whose most congenial habitat i> morasses and the low flat shores of lakes, livers, and seas. Hence in the eastern portions of Europe, »vhere it is said to arrive from Asia in small flocks, it takes up its abode along the lakes and amon^ the vast morasses of Hunj^aiy and Russia, where, according to M. Temminck, it rears its progeny, and where it fearlessly wades in search of its food, without much chance of its being carried out of its depth ; but should such an occurrence happen, or the waves diill it out from the shore, it possesses, like many of the true Wading Birds, the power of swimming with great ease and lightness. Few birds exceed it in the powcis of flight ; its wings far exceed the tail, and it passes through the air with astonishing rapidity. When on firm ground, it appears as if tottering on long and awk- ward stilts, but firm ground is not its congenial habitat." (Gould, ' Birds of Kurope.') In the last part of his ' Manuel ' M. Temminck states that this bird makes its nest upon a little eminence constructed in the marshes, laying four eggs of a tarnished green colour, marked with numerous ashy spots, and with moderate and very small reddish brown spots. In this species the cheeks, neck, and all the lower parts are white, with a roseate tinge ; the occiput, back of the neck, and upper parts black glossed with green ; the very old in»le has the occiput and back of the neck varied with white, sometimes quite white : bill black ; iris crimson ; legs vermilion. Length of head and body fourteen inches. 1869. — The Mexic.w Stilt-Plover {Hinumtopus Mexicamis). This species arrives on the sea-coast of New Jersey in small flocks about the 2.">th of April; these subdivide into smaller parties, and settle together among the salt marshes, at some distance inland, where the sheet of water is broken into numerous shallow pools, through which they can wade in every direction, and which are not usually oveiflowed by the tides during summer. They feed upon minute shell-fish, insects, Crustacea, &c. In the vicinity of these pools, six or eight pairs make their nests close together, forming them of grass, on which they deposit their eggs, but during the progress of incubation they add fresh materials, as twi^, seaweed, and the roots of grass, 80 as to elevate the platform previously constructed, which often weighs between two and three pounds. The eggs, four in number, are of a dark yellowish clay colour, thickly blotched with black. On the approach of an intruder, the males, who are roaming through the neighlwuring mareh, rise in the air, flying with their long legs extended behind them, and keep up a perpetual yelping note of click, click, click, then alighting, they stand on half-bent trembling legs, with drooping quivering wings, uttering a purring sound, and seeming as if they balanced themselves with difiiculty. This is done to draw off attention from the nests to themselves, and the avocet practises the same "ruse." Both also occasionally swim when they lose their depth in wading ; and when wounded, they attempt to escape by diving, which, however, is not veiy expertly managed. They depart early in September, visiting Jamaica and the warmer parts of the American coast. In this species the bill is slightly curved upwards (not so much as that of the avocet^ and tapers to a fine point ; the outer toe is connected to the middle by a broad membrane, as also in the European species, which has the bill straight, slender and channelled. Back of the head and neck, back, and wings, black glossed with green ; the remainder of the plumage white ; legs fine pale carmine ; bill black. 1870.— The Palmated Stilt-Plover {Cladorbynchua peclornlis). The genus Cladorhyn- chus differs from Himantopus chiefly in the cir- cumstance of all the fore-toes being connected toge- ther by partial webs. This species, which was difcovered by Mr. Gould in Southern and Western Australia and Roltnest Island, resembles the com- mon stilt-plover in its general habits. The body is white ; the breast being crossed bv a band of chest- nut bordered anteriorly with black ; wings and centre of abdomen black. In some specimens, pre- sumed females, the pectoral band was greyish brown instead of chestnut, and in others the pectoral band was apparently disappearing; from which it is to be inferred that this mark exists only during the breed- ing season. 1871. — Thk Avockt (Hecvrrirostra Avocettd). In the genus Recurvi- rostra the bill is long, slender, tapering, depressed, and bending upwards at the tip, which is very flex- ible ; legs long and slender, and the three anterior toes united for nearly the whole of their length by a scolloped membrane. The avocet is widely diffused through temperate Europe. It is found in Siberia, on the shores of the Caspian, about the .«ialt lakes of Tartary, and also in tgypt, and other parts of Africa. In our island these birds are not uncommon along the eastern coast, south of the Humber, and breed in the fenny parts of Lincolnshire, and also in Uomney Marsh in Kent. Tliey are very rare in the north of England and Scotland. They abound in Holland. During the winter the avocet assembles in small flocks, fre- quenting muddy flat shores and the mouths of rivei-s, feeding upon marine insects, minute Crustacea, and shell-fish, in quest of which it wades in the shallows, only swimming when unexpectedly out of its depth. Its slender, recurved, elastic beak, resembling whale- bone, by no means organized as a feeler for plung- ing into the mud, enables it to scoop up from the surface of the slimy ooze the minute insects or worms on which it feeds: during Ibis operation it appears as if it were incessantly beating the mud with its beak. Its actions are all quick and lively, and its flight is rapid and vigorous. During the summer the avocets are scattered in pairs over the fens and saline marshes, and select a dry spot on which to breed. The nest is merely a slight depres- sion, sheltered by such herbage as the morass affords. The eggs are greenish, spotted with black. When disturbed during incubation, or while guarding their down-covered young, they fly round the intruder in circles, uttering without intermission their peculiar cry twit-ltcit, twit-twit, and, like the stilt-plover, will feign lameness, and crouch on trembling limbs, in order to decoy the object of their fear to a distance. The avocet is a beautiful bird ; its general plumage is white, with the exception of the head, and back of the neck, the middle wing-coverts, and greater quill- feathers, which are black ; bill black ; legs bluish grey. The toes, which are webbed, give the bird superior advantage in traversing the soft ooze in search of food. Length eighteen inches. Family PHALAROPID^E (PIIALAROPES). The family Phalaropidao is established by the Prince of Canino for the Phalaropes and their immediate allies, Lobipes and Holopodius — birds endowed with great powers of swimming, and often seen upon the surface of the ocean, even amidst the roughest waves. The plumage is thick and closely set, and the toes, besides being united together at the base by a web, are bordered by acontinuation of the membrane, so as to make the feet efficient paddles. Their moult is double ; their habitat the arctic and temperate latitudes. They fly with strength and swiftness. 1872, 1873, 1874.— The Grey Phalarope ( Phnlarojnis platyrhytichus). Ph. lobatus, Flem. and Latham ; Ph. griseus, Stephens ; Phalaropus rul'es- cens, Briss ; Red Phalarope, Latham ; Plain Phala- rope, ' Arctic Zoology ;' Grey Phalarope, Selby ; Ph. fulicarius, Bonap., Wil.son. The bill in the genus Phalaropus is rather long, weak, and slender ; flattened, and wide at tiie base, furrowed to the point. The tarsi are slender, and compressed laterally. The three anterior toes are united up to the firet joint, and bordered with fes- tooned membranes dentelated on the edges. Hind- toeswithoutamembrane. Wings moderate. Fig. 1872 represents the Bill and Foot of Phalaropus hyperbo- reus (Lobipes hyperboreus, Cuv.). The grey phalarope is a native of the regions European, Asiatic, and American, within the Arctic circle, whence in autumn it migrates southwards, visiting temperate Europe, the British Island, the great lakes of Asia, and the Caspian Sea. Its food coftsists of aquatic insects, and especially those which live on the surface of the water, saline or fresh, in quest of which it swims with great address, and may be watched while engaged in this occupa- tion displaying a thousand graceful attitudes and manoeuvres. It not only frequents the shore, and the bays, creeks, and inlets of our island during the winter, but also mill-dams, large pools, and even farm-yard ponds, readily allowing itself to be ap- proached, unsuspicious of danger. On the land the phalarope is less active and alert than the sand- pipers (Tringae), with which it was associated by Linnffus. Major Sabine, in his memoir on the ' Birds of Greenland," states, that a number of these phalaropes were seen on the 10th of June, in the G8th degree of latitude (where the species breeds), at a distance of four thousand miles from land, swimming about in the midst of icebergs ; and, re- ferring to this account, M. Temminck observes that he cannot see why this bird, with such habits, and such a form as it presents, should be associated with the snipes and sandpipers (Chevaliers). The eggs of this species are greenish ash, spotted and dotted with black. Summer Plumage (Fig. 1873) • — Head, nape, back, scapulars, and other coverts of the tail blackish brown ; all the feathers of these parts are surrounded by a wide red-orange border; a yellowish band passes above the eyes ; wing-covcrls blackish, ter- minated with white; a transverse white band on the wing; rump white, spotted with black ; Iront of the neck, breast, belly, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts brick-red. \yinter Plumage (Fig. 1874) :— Top of the head, occiput, and nape pure ash-colour ; a large spot of ashy-black on the orifice of the ears; two bands of the same colour take their origin towards the eyes, and pass ujwn the occiput, where they form a single band, which descends the whole length of the nape ; lateral parts of the breast, back, scapulars, and rump very pure bluish ash ; blackish occupies the centre of all these feathere, and is directed along the shafts; the longest of the scapulare terminated with white ; a transvei'sal white band on the wing; tail-feathers brown, bordered with ash-colour; front, sides of the neck, middle of the breast, and all the other lower parts pure white ; bill yellowish red at its base, brown townrds the point ; iris reddish yellow ; feet " greenish ash. Lengih above eight inches. Family RALLID^ (RAILS and COOTS). This family consists of several groups of birds, mostly of aquatic or semi-aquatic habits, Irom the diving and swimming coot to the terrestrial land- rail, and exhibiting certain modifications of form according to the nature of the locality tenanted, viz., lake, morass, or meadow. In general the con- tour of the body is narrow and compressed. The Rallidae have to thread their way through beds of the thick-set stems of reeds, bulrushes, and other aquatic plants, among which they seek shelter and concealnient,ur, asin the case of the landrail, through the tall grass of the meadow, and that so rapidly and noiselessly, that the field seems traversed by magic : hent-e they elude pursuit with great ease, and can seldom be forced to take wing. In all, the toes are long and spreading, giving them the facility of passing over soil ooze, or even the flat leaves of the water-lily, which float in close array on the surface of the water. The beak is generally strong, often remarkably so ; but in this respect there is much variation. 1873.i-THE Coot (_Fulica atra). Foulque, Macroule, or Morrelle of the French ; Schvvarzes Wasserhuhn of the Ger- mans ; Meir Koet of the Netherlanders ; Folaga and Folacra of the Italians ; Jar ddwfr foel of the Welsh. In the genus Fulica the bill is strong, straight, subconical, and compressed, and the base of the upper mandible is carried upon the forehead in the form of a broad expanded plate. The feet are lai^ge, and the toes are margined by lobated membranes. Plumage full and deep. The coot is very generally spread over temperate Europe, and is particularly abundant in Holland. In our island it is common, frequenting large sheets of water, especially such as are surrounded with a broad belt of reeds and tall luxuriant aquatic plants, forming a dense covert for concealment. It swims and dives with the utmost address, nor is it inactive on land, and may be often seen early in the morning in humid low meadows adjacent to the water, wandering in search of slugs, worms, and insects, which, with aquatic larvai, snails, and the fry of fishes, &c., constitute its food. When winter sets in severely, and the inland waters are I'rozen, it journeys to the more southern districts of our island, visiting saline marshes, arms and inlets of the sea, and the mouths of rivers, as the South- ampton water, where numbers congregate during the inclement season, and may be seen crowding the mud flats. The nest of the coot is a huge mass of grass, flags, and other herbage, sometimes situated among the reeds near the water's edge, at other times absolutely within the margin of the water, and rising above its surlace to the height of eight or ten inches. The author of the ' British Oology ' describes these nests as clumsy, but amazingly soud and compact. "So firm," he says, "are some of them, that whilst up to my knees in water they afforded me a seat sufficiently strong to support my weight." From the nature of the materials com- posing the nest, conjoined with its situation, it not unfrequently happens that it is torn from its moor- ings by floods and carried down the current ; and instances have been known of such occurrences taking place, the female continuing to sit upon her eggs, which remained uninjured. The eggs, from seven to ten in number, are of a Rails.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 27 greenish white, thickly spotted with brown. The youns; are clothed with black down, tipped with grev,~and immediately take to the water, under the protection of their parents till able to shift for them- selves. The coot is not roused to take wing without difficulty, and then iiies low and heavily, with the legs hangini; down, or it just skims above the surface ot^the water, which it strikes with its feet by way of aiding its progress. It can, however, undertake a long-continued flight, as is evident from its semi- migratory habits, and Mr. Selby states that he has more than once seen this bird flying at a consider- able elevation, with a very unexpected degree of strength and speed. Dr. Von Siebold and M. Briiger saw the coot in Japan. The description is as follows : — Bill pale rose-red ; irides scarlet ; frontal plate largest in the male milk-white ; head and neck deep greyish black ; under parts greyish black, with a slight bluish tinge ; upper parts slaty black ; naked part Of the tibias orange; tarsi greenish grey tinged with yellow. 1876.— The MooRHE^f (GallimilacJdoroptis). Poule d'eau of the French; Gallinella of the Italians ; Wasserhuhn and Braune Meerhuhn of the Germans ; Dvvfriar of the Welsh ; Common Gallinule and water-hen, English. In Gallinule the beak is short and straight, the cutting edges of the upper mandible falling over those of the lower ; a naked frontal plate ; toes long and simple. The moorhen, or water-hen, is dispersed over the greater part of Europe, Asia, Africa, Japan, and the Indian Archipelago, if indeed the species be identi- cal, which is a question not settled. The Prince of Canino considers the two American species (G. ga- leata and G. Martinica) to be both distinct (as he does also the American coot, Fulica Americana) from their European representatives. In our island the water-hen is abundant where se- cluded sheets of water, ponds, meres, or pools, bor- dered by beds of reeds and rushes, overhung by old willows and other trees, aff'ord it an asylum. Though its feet are not fringed, it swims very gracefully, and dives with singular address, both in order to escape danger and to obtain food. In the former case it often remains immersed amidst the shelter of the herbage, with little more than its beak above the water, watching till the danger is past. On the land it runs with great rapidity, and when suddenly surprised on the bank — where, as we have often seen, it delights to bask in flocks of ten or twenty — it dashes half running, half flying into the water, and either dives, or skims half flying over the surface to the covert of the reed-bed, and instantly disappears. While walking on the grass, it has a habit of flirt- ing up its short tail, so as to disi)lay the white under- coverts; and in all its actions is smart, quick, and animated. According to Mr. Gould, the female is clothed in a dark rich plumage, and has the base of the bill and the frontal plate of a bright crimson red, tipped with fine yellow; while the male, contrary to the general rule, has the upper surface more olive than the fe- male, and the bill also is less richly tinted. The fe- male, though more richly clad, is one-fifth less than her mate. The food of this species, in addition to aquaticlarvae, worms, &c., consists of aquatic weeds, and grain, as wheat and barley. The water-hen selects a retired spot in which to breed, and conceals the nest amidst the sedges, reeds, and flags of the water- side : sometimes it is placed upon a low, thickly-fo- liaged, floating branch, or the stump of an old pol- lard : it is formed of matted flags and rushes. The eges are of a yellowish white, marbled with tints of brown, and vary from five to nine in number. On leaving her nest, the female always covers up her effgs, principally with a view to their concealment from the rat or the snake. The young are at first covered with black hairy down, and immediately take to the water. In five or six weeks they are fully fledged, and able to provide for themselves. Numbers, however, fall a prey tothe rat, the weasel, the hav. k. and the pike. Base of the bill and frontal plate red ; head, throat, neck, and under parts blackish grey ; ridge of the wing and under tail- coverts while: upper parts of the body dark olive green ; legs dusky green, with a garter of red above the tarsal joint. 1877.— The Hyacinthine Gallinule (Porphijrio ht/acinl/iinus). Poule Sidtane of the French ; Polio Sultano, Savi ; Gallo-fagiano of the Catanians. The genus Porphyrio is characterized by having the bill very strong, thick, compressed, and almost 88 high as long; the frontal plate extending from the base of the beak is very considerable ; the tarsi are strong, the toes of great length, without any de- veloped membranous edging. These birds, observes M. Tcmminck, live nearly Vol. II. like the water-hens, to which they are the most closely approximated ; like them, their habitual haunts are the fresh waters : but the immense rice-fields (rizieres) and marshes of the south equally serve them for an a.sylum and retreat. More inclined by their appetite to cereal grains and plants than to aquatic herbs, the porphyries frequent the land more than do the water-hens : they swim with grace, and run with elegance and swiltness on the land or over the plants which grow in the water. Their body is not so compressed nor so slender as that of the water-hens; their formidable bill composed of a very hard substance, and nearly without a nasal fossa, which is covered by a membrane, serves them as an instrument for cracking the husks of grains and breaking the hardest stems ; their feet which thev use to seize their food and convey it to their bill, are provided with very long toes, easily retractile, and with nails which bend also with some facility, giving them the power of prehension. A bril- liant plumage, where blue or a turquoise hue pre- dominates, clothes the greatest number of the known species. , The Hyacinthine gallinule is rather widely spread, though it is not a native of northern or western Europe, but of the southern and eastern provinces, the marshes of which are its places of constant re- sort. " Its range is extended," says Mr. Gould, " over a great portion of Africa to the south, and as far as the mountains of the Himalaya to the east. In Eu- rope it is especially abundant in the Grecian Archi- pelago, the Levant, and the Ionian Islands : it is less common in Dalmatia and Sardinia. The Southern provinces of Hungary and Russia and the borders of the Caspian Sea may also be enumerated among its European localities." M. Timminck states that it is to be seen in many cities of Sicily (where, accord- ing to M. Cantraine, it is very common in the neigh- bourhood of Lentini) ; that it is not known in Dal- matia nor Calabria, and is rare in Sardinia ; and that it is known in Catania, under the name of Gallo- fagiano. Beautiful as this bird is, and active and graceful as are its movements, it is by no means intelligent; indeed it may be said to be stupid, since, as we are assured, when hard pressed it buries its head in the mud as if for safety. It breeds in the marshes, much in the manner of the common water-hen, giving preference to the sedgy parts of the morass and partially inundated rice-fields, where it con- structs a nest of aquatic shrubs, and lays three or four white and nearly round eggs. It is probably this species which was held in such higii esteem by the Romans, and kept in temples and palaces for the sake of its beauty. Pliny notices its habit of soaking its food in water and then raising it to its beak by means of its claws : " pede veluti manu." Bill fine red ; legs and feet fleshy red ; irides lake red ; cheeks, throat, sides of the neck, and chest turquoise blue ; the remainder of the plumage deep indigo blue, with the edges of the greater and lesser wing-coverts more biilliant ; under tail-coverts white. Length eighteen inches. 1878.— The Water-Rail (Ralliis aquaticus). Rale d"eau of the French ; Merla d'acqua of the Italians ; Wasser Ralle of the Germans ; Cwtair of the Welsh. In the genus Rallus the bill is lengthened and slender, and very slightly arched. The water-rail is distributed over Europe, and some parts of Asia, having been seen by Dr. Von Siebold in Japan. In our island it is not uncommon, but is very shy and recluse, tenanting secluded marshes and ponds, where the thickest reed-beds screen it from observation, through which, from the compressed form of its body, it glides with the utmost facility and address : it thus easily eludes the pursuit of the dog, winding about till it gains some deep hole or other recess, and can therefore seldom be flushed. It also swims and dives with remarkable ease, and if pushed hard instantly disappears, rising at a distance and press- ing forward to the reed-bed. While moving undisturbed in search of food, the water-rail, like the moorhen, has a habii of flirting up its short tail so as to show the cream-white under-coverfs. In the winter, this bird, if it docs not positively migrate, resorts to the sides of large streams and rivers, where various insects, worms, &c., are always to be procured. The nest of this species is made of coarse grasses, and concealed amidst the thickest herbage in the most inaccessible part of its haunt. The eggs are from six to eight in number, of a yellowish white colour marked with spots of brown. When first excluded, the young are covered with black down, and follow their parents, swim- ming with equal address. Bill brosvn at the tip, orange-red at the base ; throat pearl grey : sides of the neck, the breast, and under surface bluish or slate grey; flanks greyish black barred with white and cream yellow ; under tail-coverts cream white; the whole of the upper surface yellowish brown, the centre of each feather being velvet black. Legs brown flesh-colour; iris orange. Length twelve inches. 1879. — The Virginian Rail (Rallus Virginianus). The Prince of Canino enu- merates three species of water-rail as natives of North America, of which he parallels the Virginian water-rail with our British species. This species, says Wilson, is frequently seen along the borders of salt-marshes, and breeds there, as well as among the meadows bordering the larger rivers; it spreads over the interior of the country as far wes.t as the Ohio, and is common in the Darrens of Kentucky early in May. In its habits it is mi- gratory, never wintering in the Northern or Middle states, which it leaves on the setting in of the frost ; but many linger in the low wooded marshes of the Southern states throughout the winter. With respect to its general manners the Virginian rail closely agrees with our water-rail, winding through the dense reed or cane beds, and swimming and diving with the same address. The nest is composed of grass and rushes ; the eggs are from six to ten in number, of a pale cream colour, spotted with reddish and pale purple. Its food consists of worms, the larvte of insects, and small shelled snails. In colour this species much resembles the European water-rail, but is smaller, tmd has none of the slate or lead colour on the breast which marks the latter, and its toes are compara- tively shorter. Length ten inches. 1880.— The Spotted Crake {Crex Porzand). The genus Crex, as characterized by Selby, has the bill shorter than the head, sub- cultrated and compressed, with a lateral furrow on each side of the upper mandible, and in which the nostrils arc pierced. Wings armed with a spine. The recent fashion for making genera has led to the division of this group, which contains four European species, into the following generic divisions: Porzana of Vieillot; Zapornia, Leach, Alecthelia, Swainson, being synonyms ; and Or- tygometra of Ray, of which the common corn-crake is the sole European representative. The crakes are birds of shy and recluse habits, living concealed in the thick herbage of the mea- dows or marshes; they have a thin compressed form of body : run with a skulking gait and great rapidity, seldom taking to wing unless when suddenly sur- prised. Their flight is laboured. Insects, worms, vegetables, and seeds constitute their diet. The spotted crake, Poule d'eau Maronette of the French, is one of our earliest birds of passage, arriv- ing in March and departing in October. On the continent of Europe it is widely spread everywhere haunting the margins of pools and rivulets over- grown with reeds, sedges, and thick herbage. It ex- tends its range to Western Asia and Africa. The nest of this species is built amongst the sedges and reeds of the pool or marsh, and the foundation is frequently under water ; it is composed of a large mass of aquatic plants interlaced, with a hollow at the top, neatly formed and comfortably lined. The eggs are eight or ten in number, of a yelloWish grey tinged with pink, and spotted with dark and pale brown. Worms, aquatic insects, grain, and various seeds constitute the food of the spotted crake, and in autumn it becomes loaded with fat, and is ac- counted excellent lor the table. Bill lemon-yellow, red at the base ; forehead, eye- streak, and throat deep smoke-grey ; crown of the head brown, the feathers edged with yellowi-h brown, and speckled with white ; breast and under parts olive-green, tinged with grey, with transverse dashes I of white surrounded by a streak of black; upper parts black, the feathers being deeply edged with olive-green, and marbled with markings of white surrounded by a list of black ; under tail-coverts olive-green ; legs wax-yellow. 1881.— The Corn-Crake {Crex pratensis). Rale de Genet, ou Roi desCailles of the French; Re di Quag'ie of the Italians; Weissen Knarrer of the Germans : Regen yr yd of the Welsh ; Landrail, Corn-drake, Daker-hen, Eng- lish. The Corn-crake is spread over the whole conti- nent of Europe, and is very abundant in Holland. It visits the southern districts of our island in April, but seldom appears in the north before the beginning of May. In some localities it greatly abounds ; in others it is little known. In the rich meadow-lands of Cheshire the monotonous cry of this bird, like craltc-cralie-cralte, may be heard during May and 1 June resounding on every side ; now close at hand, as if the bird were not a yard distant ; now far off; while the voices of others in different parts are unremittingly exerted. This note, which is the call of the male to his mate, and which ceases on the commencement of incubation, may be imitated by drawing the finger or a stick across the teeth of a comb. So shy and cunning is the bird, that it is isas.— HmiI oTHiininl Scmmrr. IMI.— Cora-Ctake. 1S88. — African Jacana. lM4.«Hflrnc4 SorMmar. 1887. — Crested Screamer. 28 I89T. — Crowned Crane. 1894.— Demoiselle. 1899.— Demoiaelle. 1898.— Bill of Heron. 1900.— Pectinited Ctawof Nighl-Heron. 1899.— Head of Heron. c\ ■mm 1896.— Stanley Crane. 29 80 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Jacanas. (cldom to be leen ; and iinlen by means of a dot; acciistomrtl to »iich work, it M almoitt impractible to force it to lake wing; it iieeras to eluile pursuit an if by auMnc.ami is here and there, threadin:: it* way through the lonp puii, before it* pursuer can imasine it has even left the ipot from which its call had tii-st resounded. Its swiftneM and dexterity are indeed almost incredible. The corn-crake breeds on the Ktound. makini; a nest of dried prass in some de- prctaion, the female laying from eight to twelve egg*; they are of a yellowish white, covered with dull ru»t-colourey, and capable of being long sustained. Their voice is loud, trumpet-like, and hoarse. In captivity the crowned crane becomes very tame and gentle ; like the rest of the family to which it belongs, it generally reposes resting on one leg, with its neck bent, and its body maintained almost horizontally. It often, however, assumes a very different attitude, standing perpendicularly upright, with its long neck on the full stretch; in this position it remains for some short space of time gazing steadfastly at the spectator, and_ then break- ing out into a hoarse kind of chuckle. The crowned crane stands about four feet in height; the front of the head is covered with short black velvety feathers ; from the occiput there rises a remarkable crest of slender bristle-like filaments, diverging from each other, with a spiral twist, and four or five inches in length. Their colour is yellowish ; they are fringed with minute black : barbs. The cheeks are naked, the upper portion of the denuded space being white, the more exten- sive space below red ; there is a small wattle on the throat. The sreneral plumage is bluish slate-colour ; the feathers of the fore-part of the chest are elon- gated ; the primary quills and the tail are black ; the secondary <)uill-feathers, which are long and slender, are of a rich brown, and the wing-coverts pure white. In the Kaffir crowned crane (B. Regulorum) the naked cheeks are white, with a roseate upper margin, and the throat-wattle is laree. Both species, to- gether with the two preceding, are living in the Gardens of the Zoological Society. Family ARDEID^ (HERONS). This family is verv extensive, embracing not only the true Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns, but also the Storks and Boatbills, and therefore consists of several minor groups, varying in certain details, though agreeing in general characteristics. They frequent, as a rule, the margins of rivers, lakes, or marshes, feeding on fish, reptiles, and even small mammalia. Essentially formed for wading, the legs are very long, and the neck and bill proportion ate. In most the beak is very sharp-pointed, often with the upper mandible sulcated as in the heron. The toes are generally elongated, the hind-toe is applied fairly to the ground, and the claw of the middle toe in the herons, egrets, and bitterns is pectinated. Though in general they build and breed in societies, they always wander alone in search of iood, and after the breeding-season lead a solitary existence. Many are adorned with elegant jilumes and crests. Their wings are ample ; their flight buoyant. Figs. 1898 and 1899 represent the Bill and Head of the Common Heron. Fig. 1900, the Pectinated Claw of the Night-Heron. 1901, 1902.— The Common Heron (Ardea cinerea). Heron of the French ; IJeccapesce, Airone. and Garza of the Italians ; Reyger and Rheier of the Germans; Cryr glas of the Welsh ; Hern, Heronshaw, Hernseugh, English ; Hearon- sewys (Herons), in Household-Book of the fifth Earl of Northumberland. In the true Herons the beak is long, straight, compressed, and sharp, with a delicate cere at the base, and the upper mandible sulcated. Lores naked. Legs long, naked high above the tarsal joint. Wings ample and rounded ; middle claw pectinated. See our account of the Goatsucker (p. 286, vol. i.), in which there is similar pectina- tion. The common heron is spread over the greater part of the world, inhabiting Asia and Africa, as well as Europe. In America it is represented by an allied species, Ardea Herodias. In our island and in temperate climes the heron is stationary, but is migratory in colder latitudes. Except during the breeding-season, this fine bird is solitary, haunt- ing rivers, sheets of water, and preserves of fish, where it often commits considerable damage. Recluse and suspicious, the Heron sits roosting during a great part of the day on his accustomed branch in seme remote and dense part of the wood ; or, where marshes are extensive, he may be observed in the middle of the morass, standing on one leg, immoveable as a statue, and so stationed as to command a wide prospect around. If roused by an intruder from this spot of repose, he spreads his wings, mounts into the air, and sails away for some distant and more secluded retreat. To come upon him by surprise is very difficult, it is early in the morning, with the grey of the dawn, after sunset in the evening, and especially during moonlight, that the heron takes his prey, excepting, indeed, when the calls of his nestlings demand his continual exertions. He may then be seen in lonely and secluded nooks, standing in the water, with glisten- ing eye, and head drawn back ready for the fatal stroke ; patiently does he maintain his fixed attitude ; presently a fish passes; sudden as lightning, and with unerring precision, arrow-like he launches his beak, and up he soars bearing the captive to his nest. It is not generally known that the heron will swim. The following fact is related by P. Neill, Esq., of Canonmills, near Edinburgh. This gentle- man had a pair of these beautiful birds tame, and, after some interesting particulars, he thus con- tinues:— "A large old willow-tree had fallen down into the pond, and at the extremity, which is partly sunk in the sludge and continues to vegetate, water- hens breed. The old cock heron swims out to the nest, and takes the young if he can ; he has to swim ten or twelve feet where the water is between two and three feet deep. His motion through the water is slow, but his carriage is stately ; I have .seen him fell a rat by one blow on the back of the bead, when the rat was munching at his dish of fish." (Selby's ' Ornithology.') The heron, as we have said, builds, like the rook, in societies, choosing the highest trees for the purpose ; and the breeding- places are termed heronries. In modern days these I are much more limited in number than formerly, ■ when the heron was protected for the pleasure of the knight and noble, who flew at it their best falcons, and regarded it as a choice delicacy in their banquets. Fig. 1903 is a Heronry, with the surround- ing wild scenery, on the river Findhorn, Morayshire, and described in the 'Penny Alagazine,' for June 6, 1840, p. 220. About a mile from the town of Reading, in a low meadow traversed by a rapid brook flowing into the Kennet, is a heronry, which we have often visited, and near it a rookery, but neither the herons nor rooks seem to interfere with each other, or offer each other any injury or molestation. The nests are flat and built of sticks. It is amusing to see the herons sailing to and from their city, on wide-spread wings, and wheeling and hovering around their brooding-mates or young; while a loud clanking chatter, uttered by numbers without intermission, and heard at a considerable distance, resounds from the crowded nests, half hidden amidst the foliage of the tall trees, which for years they have colonized. The eggs of the heron are five in number, of a dulJ 1*M.— Ilrrm. ] •og.—Niijht-IJeisn. IfOS-^Heronjy on the river Fimlboni} Morayshiie. 1904.— Bittern. /^ IM(.— Tofted Umbo. 1907.— Night-Herom. 1909.— Bill orTnfttd Umber. 1904.— Bittern. 32 p) 1913.— Stork. 1910.— Stork. No. 55, [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 83 34 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Herons bluish green. The young remain five or six weeks in the nest, and the old birds unceasinely supply their voracious appetite with fish, and defend them with ijreat resolution. The colouring of the heron in full plumage, which is not attained till the third year, is as fol- lows:— Long, loose, black feathers adorn the back of the head, and similar plumes of a lustrous white depend from the lower part of the neck ; the equally elongated and subulate scapulars are of a silvery ash. Forehead, neck, middle of the belly, border of the wings, and thighs pure white ; occiput, sides of the breast, and flanks deep black. On the front of the neck are large longitudinal black and ash spots. Back and wings verj' pure bluish-ash ; bill deep yel- low ; iris yellow; naked skin of the eye bluish purple ; feet brown, but of a lively red towards the feathered part. Length three feet and upwards. 190t, 1905.— The BiTrsRN (Bottmnu stellarit). Butor of the French ; Uccello lepre and Trombutto of the Italians; Kohrdommel of the Germans. The Bittern is found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and was once common in England, when, in the palmy days of falconry, it afforded one of the " great flights," and was protected by severe penalties, but is now comparatively scarce, though a few are said still to breed in the fenny counties. Its flesh, rank as we should deem it, was accounted a great de- licacy. The bittern frequents wild morasses and the oozy banks of large rivers, where extensive tracts over- grown with flags, reeds, and bulrushes afford it an asylum. In the midst of these it crouches during the day, and is with difficulty roused to take wing, when it flies slowly away to a distant haunt, uttering from time to time a resounding cry, different from the " boom," which is peculiar to the breeding sea- son, which has given rise to some of its provincial names, as Mire-drum and BuU-of-the-Bog : this noise has been erroneously supposed to be made by the bird while plunging his bill into the mud, and is first heard in February or March, while — •* A* vet the trembling year is unconliniied. And winter oft Kt eve resumes the breexe, Chills Uie pale mom, uid bids his driving sleets TVform the dsy deliffhtlest— so that scarce The Bittern know-s his time, with bill en(ruird To shake ttie sounding marsh ; or from the shore The Plovers when to scatter o'er the heath And sing their wild notes to the listening waste." Tfiomsoa. During the early part of spring the bittern "booms" from the midst of the marsh at intervals throughout the day, and then on the approach of dusk he soars spirally to a vast height, uttering his hollow boom, which sounds not unlike the cieep- toned roar of a bull. The nest of this bird is a rude structure, and placed not on trees, but by itself in the solitude of the morass, on some slight elevation. The eggs, five in number, are of a pale green. The bittern, when wounded, defends itself with great determina- tion, throwing itself on its back like a bird of prey, and launching its formidable beak with great force against its enemy, generally aiming at the eye : consequently it is not to be approached without caution. In olden days, when the hawk had brought the bittern down, it was the falconer's first care to plunge the bill of the latter into the ground, lest the nawk should be impaled. In size the bittern is rather less than the heron. The plumage is beautifully varied with spots, bars, and dashes of black on a fine reddish yellow ground. The feathers of the head and neck are long and loose, and capable of being thrown forward. Bill brown above, greenish below ; iris yellow ; legs pale green ; middle claw pectinated. Frogs, field-mice, newts, and fish, with the buds of the water-lily and other aquatic plants, constitute the food of the bittern. 1906, 1907.— Thk Night-Hebon {Nycticorax Ewropaut). Ardea Nycticorax, Linn. ; Bihoreaii and Roupeau of the French ; Scarza Nitticora of the Italians ; der Nacht-Raiher of the Germans. In its young state, the Spotted and Gar- denian Heron of Latham ; Night-raven. This species is very widely spread over Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe ; but in America is represented by the Quarbird (N. Americanus Bonap.), till lately confounded with it. In our islands the night-heron is a bird of rare and acci- dental occurrence ; it has been killed at Frogmore, near iVindsor, and in other places : in Spain it is common, and in the adjacent countries. In many respects it resembles the common heron in its man- ners, breeding, like that bird, in society, on the top- most branches of trees, and roosting during the day in tne recesses of woods adjacent to wild swamps and rivers, which it visits on the approach of twi- light in quest of prey. Daring the flight of these birds to their fishing-stations, and throughout the night, they continually utter a hoarse hollow croak, ominous of death, in the ears of superstition, as we believe is also the boom of the bittern, at which dread roar the credulous wayfarer of the night has stood aghast with terror. Wilson, speaking of the American species, or Qua-bird, which visits Philadelphia in great num- bers, breeding in the tall trees of the vast cedar- swamps, says that " on entering the swamp the noise of the old and of the young would almost induce one to suppose that two or three hundred Indians were choking or throttling each other. The instant an intruder is discovered, the whole rise in the air in silence, and remove to the tops of the trees in another part of the woods, while parties of from eight to ten make occasional circuits over the spot to see what is going on." While flying from their roost to the marshes, about the beginning of evening twilight, he says, they utter "in a hoarse and hollow tone the word Qua," whence the name Qua-bird. In the night-heron the legs are not so long in proportion, nor is the space above the tarsal joint naked for so great an extent, as in the common heron. The middle and outer toe are connected at the base by a membrane, and the middle claw is pectinated. The adult plumage is as follows : — Top of the head, back, and scapulars black with bluish and greenish reflexions; three white very narrow feathers, six or seven inches in length, taking their origin at the back of the head, just above the nape, and descending backwards ; lower part of the back, wings, and tail clear ash-colour ; forehead, space above the eyes, throat, front of the neck, and lower f)arts white ; bill black, yellowish at the base of the ower mandible ; iris red ; feet yellowish green. Length rather more than one foot eight inches. In the young of the year the three long feathers from the back of the head are wanting, and the general plumage is of a brown tinge, dashed and variegated with rufous : the lower parts being clouded with brown, white, and ash-colour. 1908.— The Tufted Umber (Scopus Umbretta) ; Ombrette of the French. In this genus the bill deviates from that of the true herons, in having the point decidedly deflected, the tip of the upper mandible being abruptly hooked, and that of the lower truncated. (See Fig. 1909, the Bill of the Tufted Umber.) The nostrils are linear ; the wings long ; the tail short and square ; the legs moderate. All the toes are united at the base by a membrane. Of this form, but one species, the tufled umber, is known; a bird extensively spread throughout Africa, and characterized by a peculiarly soft and lax plumage, the back of the head in the male being furnished with a full puffy crest. The general colour of this bird is deep umber brown, whence its name ; the crest being of a much paler tint. Size, that of a crow. Habits not recorded. 1910.— The Boatbill (Cancroma cochleared). Le Savacou of the French. Notwithstanding the strange form which the beak assumes in the present genus, the Boatbill is closely allied to the herons, and has in a great degree the same habits and manners ; its beak, however, instead of being straight, compressed, and pointed, is of an oval form, much depressed, with a ridge along the top of the upper mandible, which somewhat re- sembles an inverted spoon, and to which the lower mandible, of nearly the same figure, is applied, rim in contact with rim. It is in fact the bill of a heron, shortened, and flattened out laterally. The nostrils are situated in a furrow along each side of the ridge. The toes are three before and one behind. Legs moderate. The Boatbill is a native of Guiana, Brazil, and other parts of South America, and of recluse habits, frequenting rivers, wide swamps, and marshes, where it patiently watches, from its perch on some branch overhanging the water, the movements of the finny race, and precipitates itself, somewhat in the manner of the kingfisher, on such as approach the surfacu. It has been thought to live on crabs also, whence the name Cancroma, but this is by no means ascertained. Leach, indeed, in his ' Zoolo- gical Miscellany,' 1815, says, that it feeds on fishes, worms, and Crustacea, in quest of which it is con- tinually traversing the borders of the sea. Lesson, in his ' Manuel,' 1828, says that the boatbill perches on trees by the side of rivers, where it feeds not on crabs, as its name indicates, but on fish : he speaks of it as inhabiting the flooded savannahs of South America, and as being especially common in Guiana. Some years since an individual of this species was living in Exeter 'Change ; it had the lorn melancholy aspect of the herons, and was fed principally on fish. Of its mode of incubation and the minor details of its history, nothing appears to be known. In the male, from the top of the head arises a long plume of jet-black narrow feathers, pointed. and falling down upon the back, producing a beau- tiful efi'ect. The throat is bare : the forehead and neck, of which latter the feathers are elongated and form a sort of mane very characteristic of the herons, are greyish white. The back, also orna- mented with long feathers, is of a fine grey, some- times with a rusty tinge ; the tail is white ; the sides are black, the middle of the under surface deep reddish brown. Bill blackish ; legs brown. Claw of middle toe pectinated. In the temale the feathers of the top of the head are black, without being elongated into a pendent crest. In size this bird somewhat exceeds a common duck, but, with the exception of the beak, exhibits the general con- tour of the herons. 1911— 1915.— The Stohk (Ciconia alba). In the genus Ciconia the bill is long, straight, robust, subconic, unfurrowed, and pointed, with the culmen, or upper ridge, sul)- cultrated. The nostrils are linear, and pierced in the horny substance of the upper mandible near the base. The legs are long, and naked high above the tarsal joint. The hind toe is short, the middle toe long, and joined to the outer one by a large mem- brane, and by a smaller to the inner toe. The claws are short, blunt, and entire. Fig. 1916 re- presents the Bill of the Stork. The birds of this genus are gregarious and migratory; they mostly prefer flat marshy countries, aad feed upon frogs and other reptiles, mice, moles, worms, insects, and eels. Their appetite is, in fact, extremely voracious. In the countries frequented by them they are held in high regard for the sake of their utility, and are ac- cordingly protected. The range of the Common or White Stork (Cicogne blanche, Buffon ; Weisser Storch, Meyer) is very extensive, being everywhere a bird of migra- tory habits. The vast flocks that have visited Europe, and sojourned there during the summer, collect together, and wing their way for the warmer Sarts of Asia and Africa, there to pass the winter, ielon stales, that when in Abyssinia, during the month of August, a great flight of storks came from the north, and when they reached the commence ment of the Mediterranean Sea, they there made many circuitous turns, and then dispersed into smaller companies ; and Dr. Shaw informs us that when he was journeying o^er Mount Carmel he saw the annual migration of those which had quitted Egypt, and that each of the flocks was half a mile in breadth, and occupied three hours in passing over. Their course is usually unattended with any noise, excepting that of their wings; but when any- thing occurs to startle them or engage their at- tention, they make an extraordinary clattering noise, which may be heard to a great distance, by striking the mandibles quickly and forcibly together. The stork breeds in Turkey, Syria, Greece, and Egypt, but it also visits Europe, and is common in Holland and Germany, extending its migrations to Sweden and Northern Russia. In Seville, it is abundant ; but, according to the Prince of Canino, is only an accidental visitor near Rome. When we consider how abundant the stork is in Holland, and that it extends its migrations to more northern latitudes, it is somewhat surprising that individuals should so rarely visit our marshes — per- haps it was foi-merly more common than at present, and its rarity may be attributed partly to the drainage of our great morasses and partly to the persecution which it would assuredly bring down upon itself by such an untoward visit, whereas on the Continent it has for ages experienced the utmost toleration. In Holland and Germany the stork approaches without fear the dwellings of man, and is treated as a welcome guest ; annually returning to the steeple or the turret, or to the false chimney erected by the Hollander for its nest, and which has been the nursery of many a generation, The stump of a decayed tree is sometimes chosen as the site of the nest ; but wherever it takes up its abode it is there respected. In Spain, says Dr. Southey, the storks build their brood-nests on the towers of churches, and are held sacred; and Dillon states that in Seville almost every tower in the city is peopled with them, and that they annually return to the same nests. One of the causes of their being venerated is their destroying all the vermin on the tops of the houses. At Bagdad, Niebuhr says, hundreds of these birds are to be seen there on every house, wall, and tree, quite tame. We are told by Fryer that they are so exceedingly numerous among the ruins of Persepolis, that the summit of almost every pillar of these magnificent monuments of antiquity contains a storks nest (Fig. 1917). It would appear that the Turks hold this bird in more than usual esteem ; their name for it is Hadji Lug-lug : the former word, which is the honorary title of Pilgrim, it owes to its migrations and appa- rent attachment to their sacred edifices; the latter is a word formed in imitation of the noise which the bird makes. The regard of the Turks Is so far Storks.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 35 understood and acknowledged by the stork, that in cities of mixed population it rarely builds its nest on any other than a Turkish edifice. The Rev. J. Hartley, in his ' Researches in Greece and the Levant,' remarks, " The Greeks have carried their antipathy to the Turks to such a pitch that they have de- stroyed all the storks in the country : on inquiring the reason, I was informed, ' The stork is a Turkish bird ; it never used to build its nest on the house of a Greek, but always on that of a Turk.'" Where convenient buildings are not to be found, the stork will construct its nest on the flat shelf-like masses of branches and foliage presented by the fir or cedar. The nest is made of sticks and twigs, and is a solid compact mass, lasting for many years ; it is lined with reeds, grasses, and moss. The eggs are from three to five in number, and of a creamy white ; in size equalling those of the goose. Incu- bation continues for a month, at the expiration of which period the young are hatched, and assiduously attended to by the parents until they are fully feathered and able to depend upon their own ex- ertions. Elevated on its stilt-like legs, the stork walks slowly and with measured steps, traversing the marsh in quest of frogs and other reptiles, small mam- malia, and even the young of various water-fowl, on which it preys. It clears the streets of carrion and ofFal. Previously to their autumnal return to the south, which occurs towards the close of August or at the beginning of September, the storks of a district assemble together, till at length vast flocks are gradually collected ; all is bustle and commotion ; they make short excursions, and keep up a continual clattering of their bills, under the excitement of the contemplated voyage through the upper regions of the air. On some favourable night they mount up into the sky, and sail away towards their destined haven, returning to their old familiar haunts and a hearty welcome in March or April. The stork stands nearly four feet high in its ordi- nary attitude, and measures three feet six inches in length from bill to tail. The eyes are surrounded by a small black naked space, which does not join the bill. The general plumage is pure white, except- ing the quills, greater wing-coverts, and scapularies, which are black. Bill and legs red-iris brown. During repose the stork sleeps like the crane, always standing balanced on one leg, with the neck bent, and the bill resting on the breast. 1918.— The Jabiru {Mycteria Americana). The gigantic storks of this genus, of which one is American, one Asiatic, and one Australian, are characterised by the greatest part of the head and neck being destitute of fea- thers; the bill, which appears to be somewhat turned up at the extremity, owing rather to the curvature of the lower mandible than of the upper, is large, elongated, sharp-edged, and strong ; the upper mandible is nearly if not quite straight and trigonal. Length from the forehead to the tip, up- wards of thirteen inches. Nostrils basal and linear. Anterior toes united at the base by a membrane. Habits closely resembling those of the stork. The Jabiru inhabits the borders of lakes and morasses in South America, where it feeds upon reptiles, fish, small quadrupeds, &c. It is of gi- gantic stature, standing between four and five feet high, and is endowed with great power in the head and neck, its long sharp bill being a formidable spear-like weapon. The general colour of the plumage of this species is white ; the occiput is feathered, but the rest of the head and the neck are naked, the skin being black, with a tinge of red about the lower part of the latter. 1919, 1920. — The Adjutant, or Ahgala {Lcpioptilos Argala). Ciconia Argala, Vigors. In the genus Leptoptilos are placed three gigantic species of stork, distinguished at once by the vast sue and volume of the beak, with a proportionate enlargement of skull and muscularity of neck, which, together with the head, is bare of feathers, and only sprinkled with scattered hairs or a little down. A large pouch of skin, capable of being inflated, hangs like a loose dewlap from the lower part of the neck, anterior to the breast, giving to the birds an uncouth aspect, and reminding us of some of the vulture tribe, a resemblance which their general form, movements, and carrion appetite tend to strengthen. They are in fact voracious and highly carnivorous, and the structure of the stomach IS in accordance with their appetite. The solvent glands are differently arranged from those of any other bird. Instead of being placed round the upper portion of the stomach, they form two circu- lar figures, about one inch and a half in diameter, one placed on the anterior, one on the posterior part of the stomach ; each gland is composed of five or six cells, which pcur out the solvent fluid through one common tube or duct : the gizzard is lined with Vol. II. a horny cuticle. (Fig. 1921, the Stomach of the Ad- jutant.) Some degree of confusion with respect to the identity of the Indian and African species has arisen in consequence of the misappropriation of names by M. Temminck, who applied the term Marabou to the Indian species, whereas it is the native Sene- gal name of the African species, as Argala is that of the Indian. The term Marabou is given in Europe to the beautiful plumes obtained from each of these birds, but as those of the Indian species are the finest, M. Temminck transferred the name to that bird, and robbing it of its own (viz. Argala), be- stowed it upon the African, thus interchanging their respective titles. This point has been ably cleared up in the appendix to Major Denham's ' Travels.' The Adjutant or Argala is a gigantic bird, mea- suring from the tip of the bill to the claws seven feet and a half, and in extent of wing from fourteen to fifteen feet, while in its ordinary erect attitude it stands five feet high. The beak is enormously thick and massive, and the gape wide. This bird is a native of the warmer parts of India, and is to be found near Calcutta : its great voracity renders it extremely useful, and it is not only tolerated, but revered by the natives, who are indignant against those who molest it: itswallowssnakes, lizards, frogs, vermin of all kinds, carrion, and bones, and with the kites and crows by day, and jackals and hyaenas at night, assists in the office of " scavenger public," clearing the streets, lanes, and fields of all sorts of ofFal. Sir. E. Home states that in the craw of one of these birds was found a land tortoise ten inches long, and a large male black cat entire. (Ives's ' Voyage,' p. 184 ; ' Phil. Trans.' 1813, p. 77.) The argalas, says Dr. Latham, who was furnished by Mr. Smeathman with the account, are met with in companies, and when seen at a distance, near the mouths of rivers, coming towards an observer, which they often do with their wings extended, may well be taken for canoes upon the surface of a smooth sea — when on the sand-banks, for men and women picking up shell-fish or other things on the beach. One of these, a young bird about five feet high, was brought up tame, and presented to the chief of the Bananas, where Mr. Smeathman lived ; and, being accustomed to be fed in the great hall, soon became familiar, duly attending that place at dinner-time, placing itself behind its master's chair, frequently before the guests entered. The servants were obliged to watch narrowly and to defend the provisions with switches ; but, notwithstanding, it would frequently seize something or other, and once purloined a whole boiled fowl, which it swallowed in an instant. Its courage is not equal to its voracity, for a child of eight or ten years old soon puts it to flight with a switch, though at first it seems to stand on its defence, by threatening with its enormous bill widely extended, and roaring with a loud voice like a bear or tiger. It is an enemy to small quadrupeds, as well as birds and reptiles, and slily destroys fowls or chickens, though it dares not attack a hen openly with her young. Everything is swallowed whole ; and so accommodating is its throat, that not only an animal as big as a cat is gulped down, but a shin of beef broken asunder serves it but for two morsels. It is known to swallow a leg of mutton of five or six pounds, a hare, a small fox, &c. After a time the bones are rejected from the stomach, which seems to be voluntary, for it has been known that an ounce or two of emetic tartar given to one of these birds produced no effect. ('Gen. Hist, of Birds,' ix. 40, 41.) General colour above ash grey; under parts white. The under tail-coverts delicate and floating, forming plumes of the most exquisite texture. 1922.— The Marabou (Leptoptilos Marabou). Ciconia Marabou, Vigors, not Temminck. The beak of this species is repre- sented at Fig. 1923. The Marabou is smaller than the Argala ; it is a native of tropical Africa, and the neighbourhood of the large towns of the interior, where it was seen by Major Denham, in the character of a privileged visitor, on account of its utility as a scavenger. It is easily domesticated, and becomes annoyingly fa- miliar; it has been known not only to snatch pieces of meat from the table, but a boiled fowl, swallow- ing it at a bolt. The marabou flies high, and roosts in the topmost branches of tall trees, whence, as from a watch-tower, it looks abroad for its prey. The third species is a native of Java and Sumatra, where it is called, according to Marsden, Boorong Cambing, or Boorong oolar. It is described by Dr. Horsfield as the Ciconia Javanica (Leptoptilos Javanicus). Family TANTALID^ (IBIS, TANTALUS). In the birds of this Family the beak is arched, the apex blunt, the upper mandible channelled ; some portion of the head, sometimes the head and neck, are destitute of feathers, sembling those of the stork. Habits closely re> 1924.— The Glossy Ibis (Ibis Fakinellus). Tantalus Falcinellus, Linn. ." le Couriis vert of Bufibn; Green Ibis, Latham; Glossy Ibis of the same. This species, probably the black ibis of Herodotus, and celebrated for destroying snakes, whence it was one among the sacred birds of Egypt, is migratory in its habits, annually visiting the borders of the Danube, Poland, Hungary, and Siberia, and occa- sionally other countries still more to the west; sometimes even appearing in our island. It is com- mon through the greater part of Asia and Africa, and its remains, with those of the sacred ibis, are found amongst the mummies of the Egyptian cata- combs. The glossy ibis lives in societies, and its migra- tions are performed in numerous flocks. It fre- quents the banks of rivers and lakes, and grounds recently inundated, feeding on reptiles, worms, in- sects, and also aquatic plants. Its general colour above is glossy greenish black with a metallic lustre, under parts bright chestnut; a naked skin ex- tending from the bill to the eye is green ; bill and legs blackish green. 1925, 1926.— The Sacred Ibis (Ibis religiosa. Cuv.). Tantalus .iEthiopicus, La- tham ; Abou Hannes, Bruce. This species is no doubt the white ibis of Herodotus, described as being "familiar with man, and having no feathers on the head and neck ; white all over, except the head and neck, the tips of the wings, and the end of the rump, which are very black." It is to the celebrated traveller Bruce that we owe the recognition of this species as the sacred ibis, abundantly represented on Egyptian monu- ments, but which had been regarded by Linnaeus as the Tantalus Ibis, a species which, as Cuvier ob- serves, is not of common occurrence in Egypt, but is brought from Senegal. The views of Bruce have since been amply confirmed by GeofFry, Savigny, and Baron Cuvier, as well as by other naturalists. The sacred Ibis, called in Upper Egypt and Ethi- opia, Abou Hannis, or FatherJohn, and by the peo- ple of Lower Egypt Abou-menzel, or Father Sickle- bill, visits that country, being a migratory bird, as soon as the waters of the Nile begin to rise ; and their numbers increase with the spread of the inun- dation, and diminish as it subsides. On their first arrival, they repair to the low lands over which the water is beginning to flow, and as its depth and extent augment, they gradually retire to higher grounds, and spread themselves along the sides of canals and watercourses which intersect the culti- vated country. This species lives either solitary or in small com- panies of eight or ten individuals, which may be seen leisurely walking about, or exploring the humid ground and mud in quest of food, which consists of land and fresh-water shells, which are swallowed whole, together with worms, insects, and small reptiles. Its flight is lofty ; and, as it sweeps along from one spot to another, it utters at intervals a hoarse loud cry. Where the Sacred Ibis breeds does not appear to be ascertained : most probably in the central parts of Africa. Salt, on rounding Cape Guardafui from the south, saw near the coast a lagoon abounding in wild-fowl, and on the borders of it stood numbers of these birds, which, as he says, are called Abou Hannes by the Arabs, the true Ibis of the Egyptians, as described by Herodotus, a fact proved by the head and neck being bare and of a deep black colour. " It may be worthy," he adds, " to remark that Strabo mentions this bird as frequenting the coast to the east of the Straits of Babelmandeb."' It has been a matter of dispute whether this ibis kills and devours snakes, or the contrary, Herodotus having stated that armies of flying serpents, the bones of which he saw in incredible multitudes in a narrow gorge between two mountains in a part of Arabia, a little beyond the city of Brutus, were inter- cepted every spring by the ibis, and destroyed. It would appear, however, that it was not by this bird, but by the black ibis, that this feat was annually performed. That both birds may swallow small snakes we cannot doubt ; but the narration of Herodotus carries with it its own refutation. He saw the bones of snakes in incredible multitudes, whence it may be inferred that the reptiles in ques- tion were not devoured at all ; and we cannot sup- pose the ibis would kill them for any other object than that of preying upon them. It is evident that Herodotus was himself imposed upon : he describes the serpents, which he does not say he had seen alive as resembling the water-snake, but with wings destitute of feathers, and smooth like those of a bat. M. Savigny found in the crops of the fiesh-killed specimens of the sacred ibis, which he examined in Egypt, only land and fresh-water shells (Cyclasto- F2 IMS. ■ SuHi IbU. IMS. Hill ,i Mtnbou. IM6.— SKred IbU. Itlii— Ai — Pintniled Duck. 19«2.— Wild Duck Decoy, Lincolnshire. 1970.— Head and Foot of Sheldrake. 19C5.— Bill of Blue-winged Teal. IKS—- Blue-winged Teal. 1971.— M'idjfeous. 45 46 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ducks. this way is from the latter end of October until February. Wilhisjhby slates that formerly before the young ducks looU fli!;ht, or while the old ones were in moult ami uniiblc to flv, they were driven by men in boats furnished with long poles, with which tliey splashed the water, between lon^ nets stretched vertically across the pools in the shape of two sides of a triaiisle, into lesser nets placed at the point, and in this way he says that four thousand were taken at one drive in Deepins: Fen ; and Latham has recorded an instance in which two thousand six hnndred anil forty-six were taken in two days nvar Spahlin^, in Lincolnshire ; but these practices, being considered injurious, were prohibited by statute in the reign of George II. Fi;;. 1DIJ3 is the copy of an Egyptian painting, in the Britisli Museum, representing a fowler in a boat on the niarehes or flooded grounds, evidently engaged in the capture of wild-fowl, apparently by the decoy plan, in which he is assisted by trained birds, and, strange to say, by a cat, which is dehneated in the act of seizing a bird, while holding down another which she has already caught. As the jjicture is only a fragment, a complete detailed explanation is not to be deduced from it. Fig. 19G4 represents an Egyptian attending to a baited clapnet, into which a brace of wild dncks are winging their way, and which is doubtless so constructed as to enclose them when they alight. These relics of antitjuity are interesting, as affording an insight not only mto the habits and practices of a people of remote ages, but also into the zoological productions of their country, and thereby enabling us to compare them with those of the present day. We may observe, en jxissaiU, that the Egyptians represented birds and mammalia with singular fidelity, in comparison with their delineations of the human figure. 1965. — The Blue-Winged Teal (Cffonnpfeius discors, Eyton). Anas discors, Linn. This species is a native of the northern regions of America, and in eastern Europe and Asia is repre- sented by a distinct species (C. Circia, Ejtou ; Anas Querquedula, Linn.). The blue-winged teal appears in September along the shores of the Delaware in crowded flocks, which sit on the mud close to the waters edge, so that many are killed by the gunner at a single discharge. Their flesh is excellent, as they feed chiefly on the seeds of reeds or wild cats, and alter a short residence in favourable localities become very fat. When the frost begins to set in, they proceed southwards, being vei-y susceptible of cold. They abound dining the winter in the inundated rice-iields of the Southern States, where, as Wilson informs us, vast numbers are taken in traps placed on small dry eminences that here and there arise above the water. These places are strewed with rice, and (he birds are caught alive. In the month of April flocks of the blue-winged teal p.iss through Pennsylvania for the noifh, but make little stay at lliat season. In the male the forehead and fop of the head are black ; a large crescent of white extends on each side from the eye to the throat ; the rest of the head and half the neck dark slate-colour, richly glossed with green and violet ; remainder of the neck and i breast dusky back thickly marked with semicircles ! of brownish white intersecting each other; under | parts pale brown, barred with narrow dusky lines ; the sides spotted with oval dusky marks; the flanks waved with large semicircles of pale brown ; under i tail-coverts back ; black deep brownish black, each feather waved with brownish white ; lesser wing- coverts bright light blue ; primaries brown ; secon- danes black ; speculum rich green; (ertials edired with black or light blue, and streaked down the middle with white; feet yellow; bill dark slate- c3loiir. Length fourteen inches. In the female the head and neck are of a dull dusky slate-colour ; the hind head whitish ; and the general colouring is less pure and definite. ° Fig. lJiG6 represents the Bill of the blue-winged Teal, which approaches in form to that of the .jnallard. 1007. — The Commox Teal i Querquedula Crecca). Sarcelle, Petite Sarcelle Cercelle, Cercerelle of the French; Cercedula' Cercevolo, Scavolo, Saitclla, and Anitrella of the Italians ; Spiegel Entlein and Kriekente of the Germans^ Cor Hvvyad and Brach Hwyad of the ancient British. This beautiful little duck, which is too well known to require a detailed description, is widely spread over Euroiie and Asia. It is (bund in India, China, and Japan: it vi.-ils North Africa; and is common in Germany, Holland, Fia;Ke, and Italy. It breeds ^n Norway, Sweden Lapland, and Iceland ; nor must «he British Islands be excluded, for althoui^h there are flocks of these birds which arrive in cur'raarshes from the north about the end of September and return thither again in spring, still we have ourown indigenous birds, which continue permanent, breed- ing and rearing their broods. Cumberiand, North- umberland, Norfolk, the borders offomeof the lakes in Wales, are known to afford suitable localities, which they regularly tenant ; a few breed in Komney Marsh ; in Ireland some are also resident throughout the year. The nest of this species is formed of decaying vegetable matters, with a lining of down and feathere ; it is placed amidst the long rushy heriiage about the edges of lakes, or in the bogty paits of the upland moors. The eggs, from eight to ten ()r twelve in number, are of a cream white. The flight of the teal is wonderfully rapid, and when the bird is flushed the sportsman must be on the alert, otherwise it will be beyond range of shot ere he diaws his trigger. Night is the feeding-time ot this species; during the day it reposes upon the water, or sits shrouded amidst the herbage of the bank with the head crouched between the shoulders, or with the bill under the scapulars: immediately after sunset it wings its way to its usual feeding- ground ; aquatic planfs and their seeds, grain, fresh- water mollusks, insects and their lai-vae, constitute its diet. For the sake of its beauty the teal is often kept on ornamental sheets of water, and becomes very tame and familiar ; those in the Zoological Gardens have for several years past bred annually. Of all our water-fowl this is the most delicate for the table, and, as Willugliby remarks, '■ doth deservedly challenge the first place among those of its kind." Accord- ingly we find it recorded among the abundance of good things composing the lordly banquets of the olden time. 1968. — Thk PlNTAILED DUCIC {Bnfila cau(lacuta). Anas C'audacuta, Ray ; Anas acuta, Linn. ; Anas longicauda, Brisson : Querque- dula acuta, Selby ; le Canard a longue queue on Pilet of the French ; Anitra codilanza and Aiiitra di coda lunga of the Italians ; Speissente and Fasan- ente of the Germans; Hwyad gynffonfain of the ancient British. Fig. 1909 represents the Bill of the Pinfailed Duck, in which the laminae are only moderately developed, w'hile the elevation at the base exceeds the bre.-idth. The bulla of the windpipe is of the size of a small hazel-nut. The pintailed duck is a native of the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America, breed- ing in the high latitudes, whence on the approach of winter it wings its way southwards, to return again in spring. It visits Holland, France, and Germany in great numbers, as well as the British Islands, the fens of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, &c., being its princi- pal places of resort. It is a shy and wary bird, and one of the first to give the alarm on the approach of the cunner. Contrary to the statement of Mon- tagu, Mr. Selby asserts, from long personal observa- tion, that it is of rare occurrence in the north of England and the south of Scotland, and that he has reason to believe that in the north of Scotland and the adjacent islands it is equally uncommon, the long-tailed duck (Harelda glacialis), which in winter frequents the bays of the Orkneys and other groups of islands in great abundance, having been mistaken for it. This species is easily domesticated, but seldom breeds in confinement; yet hybrids between it and other ducks have occasionally been produced. Mr. Selby observes that the season of courtship is indicated by the male suddenly laising him.^elf upright in the water, and bringing his bill close to his breast, atthe same time uttering a low soli note ; this gesticulation being often followed by a jerk of the hinder part of the body, which is then also throw above the water. We may add that some- what similar gesticulations are common to the mal- lard and other species. The pintailed duck is a bird of graceful propor- tions, with a slender neck and elongated tail, and, as is the case with the mallard and several others, as the teal and wigcon, the plumage of the male after the breeding-season undergoes a remarkable change of colour, and a.-^similates to that of the fe- male. In the male, in full plumage, the head and throat are dark hair biown, the lower part of the neck, and two steaks running up to the hmd part of the head, the breast, and under parls, white. Back of the neck deep brov.n. Flanks and thighs with fine transverse black lines. Under fail-coverts velvet black. Back marked with alternate wavy lines of black and greyish uliite. Siapulais black ; teitials long, acuminate, and blajk, with yellowish white margins. Lesser wing-cuveits deep i;muke-grey. Speculum blackish green, with a bronzed leflexion, bordered below by white. Quills brown. Two middle tail-leathers elongated, acuminate, and black, the re=t brown margined with white. Bill black. Legs blackish grey. 1970. — The Sheldrake (Ihdonui Vvlpanser), Head and Foot. Anas Ta- ll dorna, Linn. ; la Tadorne, Buifon ; Brandente, I' Beclislein; Volpoca of Savi ; Hwyad yr eithin and Hwyad fruitli of the ancient British. The Sheldrake is a native of northern Europe and Asia, and occurs in Jap.ui. We may enume- rate it among the indigenous biids of cuir islands, as it breeds with us. and may be seen at nil seasons upon various paits of the coast, and on the mud- banks of our tidal rivers, but rarely far inland; their numbers, however, are great ly increased in the winter by accessions from the north, which return to their summer haunts in March. This species selects rabbit- warrens along the coast as its breeding-place, and taking up a deserted burrow, there mak.'s a nest of dried grass, lined with soil down plucked from its own breast. The nest is sometimes ten or twelve feet from the entrance; but where there are no burrows accessible, it is placed in a fissure of the rock or bank ; the eggs are ten or twelve in number, and of a pure white. The parents are very solicitous respecting their young. During the period of in- cubation (thirty days) the male keeps watch, and takes the place of the female when she leaves the nest for food. When the young are hatched, (hey are conducted or carried in the bill of their parents to the sea, vvhcre they swim about in some sheltered spot, seldom leaving the water till fully fledged. When the nest or young are in danger, the old birds show great address in decoying the intruder to a distance, feigning lameness, and fluttering along the ground before him ; hence the natives of the Orkneys call this bird the sly goose. The food of the prcienc species consists of sea-weed, shelled mollusks, small Crustacea, the spawn and fry of fishes, and also grain. The flesh is rank and bad. From its great beauty the sheldrake is often kept tame as an orna- mental appendage to lakes and 'sheets of water i:i parks or gardens, and numbers of the young are annually captured for sale. Selby status that in confinement this species seldom breeds ; one in- stance came under his own observation, and another is recorded by Montagu. We may here observe that the sheldiake has bred both in the gardens of the Horticultural Society and ia those of the Zoo- logical Society. The sheldrake is distinguished from the ducks of other genera by the form of its bill, which is com- paratively short, high at the base, depressed in the middle, with the tip flattened and turning upward-, and the nail abruptly curvel. The legs are long, and placed in the centre of the body, whence tiie birds run on shore wiili considerable ease and quick- ness. There is a fleshy knot on the base of the upper mandible in the male, which increases on the approach of the pairing-season, and acquires a beautiful crimson hue. The trachea of the male is furnished at the lower larynx with two thin bulliv, of which that on the right side is the largest. The head and neck are greenish black; the lower jiait of the p.eck, wing-coverts, back, sides, rump, and base of tail, pure white. Scapulars, a large band girding the middle of the belly, quills and extremity of caudal feathers deep black ; a large bay-coloured gorget adorns the breast. Speculum, or beauty-.tpot of the wings, purple green. Feet flesh-coloured. The female is less than the male, and her colours are moie obscure. 1971. — The Wigeon, or Widgeon (Maieca Penelope). Canard Siffleurof the French • Anistra fischiarola, Anatra niarigiana, and Fischioua of the Italians; Pfeilente of the Germans; Chwiw of the ancient British. The Wigcon is a native of the northern regions of Europe and Asia, breeding in Lapland, Sweden, Norway, &c., whence on the approach of winter vast flocks wing their way southwards, visiting Holland, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. It occurs in the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, in India, and .Japan. In the British Islands it arrives about the beginning of October, visiting our inland marshes, bays, and the mouths of rivois, and gnat numbers are annually taken in decoy.^j, lor the sake of the flesh, which is very excellent, iis a vegetable diet (aquatic plants, sea-weeds, and ordinary grass) forms lhechiefsupi)ort of this species. Dr. Itichard- son in a note gives the following interesting par- ticulars, which he derived Irom Skeltou, the intelli- gent keeper of a decoy in Lincolnshire: — "With respect to food, the mallard, pintail, and teal lie- queiit lichfloodid ]a.iuU, fit illciiiig wi[h their titbs 111 the soil, ar.d .'^uckiiig out all its stioicjtli, but the wigeon feeds (juite differently, behiij an on:ci:iiii; foul to graze and a btiumjc eater of tjrass. It is especially fond of flutter grass (glyceria), which it crops on the surface, but it likev.ise eats many other heibs." It is i)artial to willow-weed seeds (epilo- bium), as aie also the mallard, teal, and pintail, piclVrriiig them to oats; and it leeds by day, but is also nocturnal in its habits. The wigeon has been known to breed in Sutheriandshirc ; the nest is placed among low bushes, ieed.s or rushes near Iresh Aater, and is composed of vegetable materials Ducks.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 47 in a stata of decay, lined with waim down plucked from the ])arent"s body. Tiie eggs arc cream co- loured. Tiie flocks of this species, while on the wing, utter during tlieir flight a peculiar wliistling call-note, by which the fowler, during the night, easily distinguishes them. From this call the bird in some places has received the name of V\'hew-duck. Early in March the flocks begin their polar migration, and by the month of April our morasses and shores are deserted. The wigeou is t;)0 well known to need a detailed description. Fig. 1971* represents the Bill of this species. 1072. — The American Wigeo.v (Mareca Amcricnna). This species, which breeds in the liish noitliern latitudes of America, is com- mon in winter in the United S;ates, and particularly so in Caroiin.i, where it IVeciucnts the plantations of rice. It visits Guiana and St. Doniiugo. A.ccording to Wilson, the American wigeou is e-xtremely fond of the teni.'er roofs of that particular species of aquatic plant on which the Ciuvas-back Duck, so abundant in L'liesapeak Bay, habitually feeds ; hence the wigjon, as it never dives, is the constant attend- ant of the canvas-!)3ck, and is always on the watch for its rising fiom the deep with the tempting morsel in its bill, which the wigeon immediately snatches a.vay. On this account the canvas-back and wigeons, or, as they are called round the bay, Bald- pales, live in a state of perpetual contention. As is the ca.ic witli our European species, the present is remarkable fur its whistling call as it vrings its way by night, and this call is frequently imitated as a means of enticing the birds within gun-shot. 1973, 1974.— The Summer Dues {Dendronessa Sponsa). The Wood-duck of Audu- bon. This beautiful species is extensively spread over the whole of the United States of America, and is equally common in Mexico and several of the West India Islands. Its favourite haunts are fecluded sheets of water embo^-omcd in the woods, mill-dams, and ponds, the shore of the sea being seldom or never visited. In the warmer latitudes it is a per- iiiancnt resident, but in the more northern distiicls is a bird of passage, retreating southwards as winter comes on, and returning in the sprini;. In the Jliddle States tlie Summer duck breeds about thj heginning of April ; in the Northern States, seldom before the eaily part of June ; while in the Southern States it piirs about the 1st of March or a week earlier. Unlike the duck tribe generally, this spe- cies never makes a nest on the ground, but chooses the deep hole which the great ivory-billed wood- pecker has made in a tree, or the deserted retreat of some squirrel, or the hollow left by the breaking oif < f some large limb; the tree chosen usually over- hangs the water or swamp, or is at no great distance from if. The nest is composed of feathers and diied herbage, with a little down, the latter mostly plucked from the breast of the female. The eggs varv from six to fifteen in number, and are smooth, polished, and of a colour between buff and pale gieeii. As is the case with our wild duck, the male deserts the female when she commences the task of incubation, and joins with others of his own sex, forminir flocks, which in the autumn are augmented by the females and young of the year, all keeping together till the spring pairing-lime. When the breedii'.g-place overhangs the water, the young ducks, soon after being hatched, scramble to the mouth of the hole, and spreading their little wings and feet, drop into their favourite element, where the female diligently attends them : if, however, the tree should be at some distance from the water, the female carries them to it one by one in her bill, holding them so as not to injure their yet tender frame. The same retreat is occupied year after year by the same pair, and instances have been known of their frequenting a favourite tree after the colonist had occupied the land around it, and the noise of the sa.v and the hammer, and the voices of busy workmen resounded at its foot ; yet the Sum- mer duck is naturally a shy bi;d, and usually avoids the presence of man, whom it has learned to fear. The food of this species consists of acorns, grain, the bct'ds of plants, insects, &c. In captivity the Summer duck is very tame, and, we doubt not, might be easily naturalized as a do- mestic tenant of our homesteads. It breeds freely in the Zoological Gardens. As an ornament to our sheets of water it has no superior. The colouiing of the male is as follows: — Head above and space between the eye and bill glossy dark green ; cheeks and a large patch on the sides cf the throat purple, with blue reflexions; pendant cccipital crest of green and auricula puiple marked wi'h two narrow white lines, one of them terminating behind the eye, the other extending over the eye to tha bill ; sides of the n?ck purplish red, changing on the front of the ntck and sides of the breast to brown, and there spotted with white. Scapulars, wings, and tail exhibiting a play of duck green, purple, blue, and velvet black colours; interscapu- lais, posterior jKut of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts blackish green and jiurple ; several of the lateral eovei Is reddish orange ; a hair-like, splen- dent, reddish purple tuft on each side of (he rump ; the under coverts brown. Chin, throat, a collar round tlie neck, a crescentic bar on the ears, the middle of the breast, and whole of the abdomen v.hite. Flanks yellowish grey, finely undulated with black; the tips of the long feathers and also those on the shoulder broadly barred with white and black. Inner wing-coverts white, barred with brown. Almost all the coloured plumage sliows a play of colours with metallic lustre. Bill red; a space be- tw-een the nostrils, its tip, margins, and lower man- dible black. Legs orange-coloured. Length nine- teen inches. The plumage of the female is much plainer than that of her mate, being chiefly coloured with drab and glossy brown, the fine pencillings of the sides being wanting. Fig. 1975 represents the Bill of the Summer Duck. 197G. — The IMandarin Duck {Dendroncssa galericulatii): Een-Yeong ,of the Chinese, according to Mr. G. Bennett. Like the Summer duck of America, this is an arboreal bird, roosting in high trees. It is a native of China, and is often seen well represented in Chinese paintings. The Mandarin duck appears to mate for life ; at all events, these birds are regarded by the Chinese as emblems of conjugal fideliiy, and are usually carried about in their marriage proces- sions. The male is extremely beautiful, and remarkable for the long silky feathers of the head and neck, and the broad feathers which rise vertically from j the wings. During four months of the year, how- 1 ever, that is, from May to August, the male changes ! his splendid dress, and bears a close resemblance to the unadorned female. This species has bred in the Zoological Gardens, and, like its congener the Summer duck, might doubtless be naturalized. We shall now pass to the marine or diving ducks, which live almost exclusively in the sea, and dive deep for their food. The plumage is close and thick ; the limbs placed far back ; the neck is thick and short; the wings short; and diving, rather than flight, is resorted to as a security Irom danger. 1977, 1978, 1979.— The Eider-Duck (Somatena moUissima). Oie a duvet, ou Eider of the French; Eiterente of the Germans; Ilwyad fwythblu of the ancient British ; St. Cuthberfs Duck, Great black-and-white Duck, Dunton Duck, &c. Fig. 1978, the Female. In the genus Sumateria the bill is small, with the base elevated, and extending up the forehead, w here a central narrow line of feathers divides it. Apex narrow ; sides with coarse wide laminations ; nostrils small, oval ; hind-toe with a lobated membrane. Fig. 1980 represents the Bill of llie Eider-duck. It is from this bird, and an allied species, the King- Eider, that the down so celebrated for warmth and lightness is procured. The eider-duck is oceanic in its habits, tenanting the northern seas, and is very abundant on the shores of Iceland, Greenland, Lap- land, Spitzbergen, and those of Baffin's and Hudson's Bays. It is called Mittek by the Greenlanders. It is only an accidental visitor to our southern coasts, but is common in the Hebrides, where it annually breeds, as also on the Earn Islands on the Northum- brian coast. In Iceland and Norway, the districts to which this bird resorts are regarded as valuable property, and strictly preserved ; but in Labrador, where' tii • eider is abundant, the egg-gatherers kill it in great niuubers, from mere wantonness, but neglect the down. The Greenlanders chase the cider for the sake both of the flesh and skin; and also rob the nests of the down and the eggs, the latter being esteemed excellent food. It is the down with which the female lines her nest that is so valuable; that taken from the dead bird being of very inferior quality. The mode in which the down is collected in Iceland and Norway, where every one is anxious to have an eider-estate, is as follows : — The female is suffered to lay her five or six eggs, which are placed in a nest constructed of marine plants, with the warm elastic material in question as a lining : these eggs and the down are taken; she then relines her nest, and lays a second time : the eggs and down are again abstracted. Unable to supply more down, the male now strips his breast, and lurnishes a sup- ply, known by its pale colour: on this the female lays two or three eggs, which she is suffered to hatch unmolested, for were these to be taken the bereaved bird would utterly forsake the inhospitable place, and return no more. The quantity afforded by a single female is, when cleaned, about half a pound. Tlie eider-duck is a bird of recluse habits, disliking interruption, though not particularly timid. Hence it generally chooses for its breeding-hamit low flat islands along the coast, and narrow slips of land projecting into the sea; here multitudes assemble during the summer, in order to rear their broods, and aie at that time very tame. Sir George Mackenzie, during his travels in Ice- land, had an opportunity, on the 8th .lune, afVidoe, of observing the eider-ducks, at all other limes of the year perfectly wild, assembled for the great work of incubation. The boat, in its approach to the shore, passed multitudes of these buds, which hardly moved out of the way ; and, between the landing-place and the governor's house, it required some caution to avoid treading on the nests, while the drakes were walking about, even more familiar than common ducks, and uttering a sound which was like the cooing of doves. The ducks were sitting on their nests all round iTie house, on the garden wall, on the roofs, nay even in the inside of ttie houses and in the chapel. Those wliich had not been long on the nest generally left it when they were approached ; but those that had more than one or two eggs sat perfectly quiet and suftercd the party to touch them, though they sometimes gently repelled the intrusive hand with their bills. But, if a drake happen to be near his mate when thus visited, he becomes extremely agitated. He passes to and fro between her and the suspicious object, raising his head and cooing. The food of the eider-duck consists of small Crustacea, mussels, and other shell fish, and various marine animals, in ([uest of which it dives with griat address. The male and female differ greatly in colouring. In the male, on each side of the head and above the eyes, is a large band of black feathers ; the sides of the throat and back of the neck are of a delicate sea-green; the neck is white, with a tinge of yellow passing into buff on the breast ; back and shoulders white ; quill-feathers, tail, and under parts black. The female has the plumage universally of a brownish red, barred transversely with black ; bill oil-green ; legs greenish yellow. 1981.— The Surf-Duck (Oideiiiit peispicillala). Surf-Scoter, Black Duck, of Edwards ; Macreuse a large bee ou Canard Marchand of the French. In the genus Oidemia the bill is broad with dilated margins and coarse lamellilorin teeth; it rises abruptly above the nostrils ; the forehead encroaches in a point on the upper mandible. Fig. 1982 represents the Bill of the Surf-Duck. Thissjjecies is common and abundant at Hudson's and Baffin's Bays, and maybe regaiiled rather as an American than a European species, its visits to the Orkneys and the European seas being merely acci- dental. It was seen at Nootka Sound by Captain Cook. The Prince of Canino notes it as very abundant in the sea in the neighbourhood of the shore at Philadelphia. During the summer the surf-duck haunts shallow estuaries, bays, and bars, where it feeds upon shell-fish, and dives with re- markable vigour in the midst of the heavy surf. It breeds, among other places, on the shores of Hud- son's Bay, and in Labrador, making a lust of grass, and lining it with down. The eggs are four or five in number, of a white colour. The winter migrations of this species extend to Florida, but numbers remain during the cold season along the shores and in the open bays cf the United States. The northward return takes place early in May. The male is velvet black, with a reddish reflexion; throat brownish; a broad wh.ite band between the eyes, and a triangular patch of the same on the nape ; bill reddish orange, the nail paler; a square black spot on the lateral piotube- rance ; legs orange; webs brown; bill much like that of the Velvet Scoter (Oidemia fnsca), but the lateral protuberances are naked and horny, and the central one is feathered farther down. Tiie laminae are distant, and the lower ones particularly promi- nent,with cutting edges. As inlhe other Oidemia?, the bill and ibrehead are inflated, causing the head to appear lengthened and the crown depressed. The nostrils are rather large, and nearer to the point than to the rictus. lA'ugth twenty-four inches. (Dr. Richardson, from a bird killed at Fort Franklin.) Female and Young : — Black ashy brown wherever the male is deep black. Head and neck lighter; frontal band and great angular space upon the nape indicated by very bright ashy brown. Lateral pro- luberauces of the bill but little developed, and the whole bill of an ashy yellowish colour. Feet and toes brown ; webs black. (Temniinck.) Dr. Richard- son observes that the under plumage in particular is paler; that the back and wing-coverts are narrowly edged with grey; that the breast, flanks, and eai-s have some whitish edgings ; that the bill is black, its base not so much inflated; and that the nostrilsare smaller than in the male. 1976.— MuDduin Duck 1»T3.— Siimmtt Euck. 19T5.— Bill orSomincr Duck. IMC— Mill of EldfrDLck 1977.— M«le Eidfr-Duok. 1974. — Slimmer Duck. 1978.— Female Kider Duck. 19ii2.— i;illorSurf-Cuck. 1971*.— Bill of WiJgTOn. i 1931.— Surf-Duck. 84 19:9-Ei,l<.r-Duck. 19S4.— Beak of Canv«s-back Dnck. 1987— Bill of Spirit-Duck. 1991.— KU of Ung-tailed Duck. 1985.— Spirit-Dock: Male. 1988.— Long-Uiled Duck: Male. 1986.— Spirit-Duck: Female. 1989.— Long-Uiled Duck : Female. 198:*.— CtnvaA-back Duck, No. 57. — ^o'" " 1 992.— Steamer-Duck. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 1990 Long-tailed Duck Male. 49 50 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ducks. 1983.— The Canvas-back Duck 'Pvhmda Valisnena). In the genus Fuligula the bill IS flat, broad, long, with only a slight elevation at the ba»e ; the nostnis are suboval ; the feet are large; the hind toe broadly lobated. Fig. 1984 re- presents the beak of the Canvas-back. The Canvas-back duck, in many points, both of form and colouring, closely approaches our well- known Pochard (Fuligula ferina). but is considerably superior in size. It is a species peculiar to America, breeding from the 50th parallel of N. latitude to the most northern limits of the fur countries. When the season of incubation is over, and the winter sets in, the Canvas-back in large flocks migrates southwards, appearing on the coasts of the United States about the middle of October. A few de- scend to the Hudson and Delaware, but the great body of these birds resort, according to Wilson, to the numerous rivers belonging to, and in the neigh- bourhood of, Chesapeake Bay, particularly the .Sus- quehannah, the Patapsco, Potomac, and James nvers. It is probable that they extend their migra- tion to the Gulf of Mexico ; they are said to be common at the mouth of the nver Neuse, near Newbern. It is seldom that these birds advance high up the rivers, but resort to a particular part of tide water, where the long subaquatic valisnena grows in immense quantities, the white tender root of which furnishes them with the most acceptable food. For this they dive and tear up the plants, which become drilled into matted rows by the wind ; the tender portions near the root of the slender marine vegetables, called eel-grasses (Zostera ma- rina and Ruppiamaritima), are also eagerly devoured, as well as seeds and grain, which are oflen scattered over the surface of the water near the coast, from wrecks. Wherever their favourite vegetables abound, these birds assemble, and sometimes in such multitudes as to cover acres of the river; the noise of their wings when they rise disturbed by the gunner resembling the roar of thunder. They are extremely shy, and can only be approached by stratagem; yet are they the object of the sports- man's unceasing persecution, for of all the duck tribe, if we may believe those who ought to know, none can at all compare with them in the exquisite flavour of their flesh. On their first arrival along the shores of the United States they are lean, biit in a short time they become very tat, and then is the flesh superlative. The neck of the Canvas- back, in the male, is of a rich chestnut, deepening into black on the upper part of the back and breast, where it abruptly terminates: the rest of the back is white, beautifully pencilled with fine transverse wavy lines of dusl1 the fur countries the work of slaughter again com- mences, the natives attracting the birds within gun- shot range by imitating their call note. "One goose," says Dr. Richardson, " when lat weighs about ■ nine pounds, and is the daily ration for one of the ' company's servants during this season ; it is reckoned j equal to two snow geese, or three ducks, or eight | pounds of buffalo or moose meat, two pounds of ' pemmican, or a pint of maize and four ounces of suet. About three weeks alter their first (vernal) appearance, the Canada geese disperse, in pairs, throughout the country between the 50th and 67th parallels to breed, retiring at the same time from the shores of Hudson's Bay. They are seldom or ever seen on the coasts of the Arctic Sea. In July, after the young are hatched, the parents moult, and vast numbers are killed in the rivers and small lakes, when they are unable to fly. When chased by a canoe and obliged to dive frequently, they soon become fatigued, and make for the shore with the intention of hiding themselves, but as. they are not fleet they fall an easy prey to their pursuers. In the autumn they again assemble in flocks on the shores of Hudson's Bay for three weeks or a month previous to their departure southwards." The food of the present species consists of tender aquatic herbage and roots, and also marine plants, together with grain and berries. The Canada goose has tne head, nearly all the neck, the greater quills, rump, and tail black. Back and wings brown, with a pale edge to each feather. Base of the neck and under plumage white, a few feathers before the edge, and a large throat-mark white. Bill and feet black. 1994. — The Bean Goose (Anser Segetum, Steph.). Anser ferus, Flem. The Bean goose or Small Grey goose must not be confounded with the Greylag, the origin of our domestic stock, and from which it may be distin- guished by Its inferior size, and by the form of the bill, which is comparatively shorter, smaller, and more compressed towards the end. Its wings reach even beyond the tail. Moreover, in the bean goose the base of the upper mandible as far as the nos- trils and of the lower, together with the nails of both, are black, the rest of a reddish flesh-colour inclining to orange, whereas the bill of the grey- lag is of an orange red, with the nail of a greyish white. The bean goose is a native of the high northern regions, and the range of country within the arctic circle ; whence in the autumn it migrates south- wards, and is well known as a regular winter visitant to our islands, arriving about the beginning of Oc- tober. The flocks have their respective feeding districts or haunts, to which, as Mr. Selby has satis- factorily determined, they invariably return ; their flight, except during stormy weather, is generally at a great elevation, and extremely rapid. The birds fly either in a diagonal line, or form two sides of an acute triangle, and during their aerial progress maintain an incessant cackle, the voices of the two sexes being easily distinguished. During the day, the flocks resort to the upland grounds and open lands, feeding on the tender wheat, and also upon clover and other herbage. In the early part of the spring they visit the fields newly sown with beans and peas, and greedily devour as much as they find scattered about, or can dislodge ; on the approach of evening they retire to the water, or to some bar of sand, at a little distance from the shore, where they have a fiee range of vision all around, and no enemy can steal unobserved upon them. They are extremely watchful and vigilant, and it is only by stratagem that the sportsman can come upon them vfithin gunshot. The best plan is to lie in wait for them when they make their early morning visit to the feeding grounds wliich they habitually fre- quent. The bean goose is said to breed on some of the outermost Western islands in considerable numbers, making in the marshy grounds a nest of dried grasses and other vegetables ; the eggs are terf or twelve in number. The bean goose is much more common in our island than the greylag, at lea^t in the present day : for formerly the greylag was not only numerous, but a permanent resident, breeding in the fenny counties, from which the process of draining, and an increase of population, have almost entirely banished it. For the description of a recently de- termined species, the Pink-footed goose, closely allied to the bean goose, see ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1839, p. 3. It is the Anser phoenicopus of Mr. Bartlett. 1995, 1996.— The Bernicle Goose {Anser Bernicla). The Bernicle, together with a closely allied species, the Brent goose (Anser Brenta), are both natives of the high northern lati- tudes, both of Europe and America, and in autumn migrate southwards , they visit our islands during Vol. II. the winter; the bernicle goose resorts to the western shores of Britain and the north of Ireland, and is abundant on the coast of Lancashire and in the Sol way Frith ; while the brent goose chiefly haunts the eastern and southern shores of Britain, and abounds on the Northumbrian cost. Both species are very shy and wary, and can only be approached by means of the most cautious manoeuvres. They Irequent marshy ground covered with spring-tides, feeding upon sea-shore grasses, the trends of various algae, and particularly of the laver. The bernicle breeds in Iceland, Spitzber'gen, Greenland, Lapland, the north of Russia and of Asia, and the neighbourhood of Hudson's Bay. It is of handsome form, and, from the length of the tarsi, stands high on the limbs ; its flesh is very ex- cellent. As the bernicle or bernacle goose and the brent goose have till recently been confounded together, the fabulous origin attributed to the one involves that of the other also. It is strange that in matters concerning the maivellous, even men of education will take pains to deceive themselves, and, instead of investigating nature with a "learned spirit," give 'a licence to ill directed imagination, and credit ab- surdities. When such men are so credulous, how can we wonder at the superstitions of the illiterate? The first phase of the story in question is, that certain trees, resembling willows, more particularly in one of the Orkneys, Pomona, produced at the ends of their branches small swelled Oalls, containing the embryo of a duck suspended by the bill, which, when ripe, fell otf into the sea and took wing. Munster, Saxo Grammaticus, Scaliger, Fulgosus, Bishop Leslie, and Olaus Magnus, all attested to the truth of this monstrous absurdity. Gesner, Johnston, and Aldrovand may be also cited. Fig. 1997 is a copy of the bernacle goose-tree, from Aldrovand, displaying the pendent fruit, in due time to undergo their wonderful transformation. A second phase or modification of the story is that given by Boiice, the oldest Scottish historian : he denies that the geese (Scottice, Claiks) grow on trees by their bills, as some believe, but that, as his own researches and personal experience prove, they are first produced in the form of worms, in the substance of old trees or timber floating in the sea ; for such a tree, cast on shore in 1480, was brought to the laird, who ordered it to be sawn asunder, when there appeared a multitude of worms, " throwing them- selves out of sundry holes and bores of the tree ; some of them were rude, as they were new-shapen; some had both head, feet, and wings, but they had no feathers ; some of them were perfect shapen fowls. At last the people, having this tree each day in more admiration, brought it to the kirk of St. Andrew's, beside the town of Tyre, where it yet remains to our days." Other instances he adduces by way of proof, and at length he comes to the conclusion, that the production of these geese from fruits is the erroneous opinion of the ignorant ; it being ascertained that " they are produced only by the nature of the ocean sea, which is the cause and production of many wonderful things." In this view he was supported by Turner and others: " When," says Turner, "at a certain time an old ship, or a plank , or a pine-mast rots in the sea, some- thing like a little fungus at first makes its appear- ance, which at length puts on the manifest form of birds ; afterwards these are clothed with feathei-s, and at last become living and flying fowl." (' Avium Prsecip. Hist.,' art. ' Anser.') Turner, however, does not give up the goose-tree, but informs Gesner that it is a different bird from the brent or bernicle goose, which takes its origin from it. (Gesner ' De Avibus,' iii., p. 107, &c.) Passing a host of other authori- ties, with their accumulated proofs, and the deposi- tions of unimpeachable witnesses, we may come to Gerard, who, in 1G36, published in his ' Herbalist ' a detailed account as follows: — " But what our eyes have seen and hands have touched we shall declare. There is a small island in Lancashire, called the Pile of Foulders, wherein are found the broken pieces of old and bruised ships, some whereof have been cast thither by shipwracke, and also the trunks and bodies with the branches of old and rotten trees, cast up there likewise ; vyhereon is found a certaine spume, or froth, that in time breedeth into certaine shels, in shape like those of the muskle, but sharper pointed, and of a whitish colour: wherein is contained a thing in form like a lace of silke finely woven, as it were, together, of a whitish colour ; one end whereof is fastened into the inside of the shell, even as the fish of oisters and muskles are ; the other end is made fast unto the belly of a rude masse or lumpe, which in time com- meth to the shape and form of a bird : when it is perfectly formed the shell gapeth open, and the first thing that appeareth is the foresaid lace or string ; next come the legs of the bird hanging out, and as it groweth greater it openeth the shell by de- grees, till at length it is all come forth and hangeth only by the bill : in short space after it commeth to full maturitie, and falleth into the sea, where it gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowle bii;ger than a mallard and lesser than a goose, havine blacke legs and bill or beake, and feathers bla^ke and white, spotted in such manner as is our mng- pie, called in some places a pie-annet, which the people of Lancashire call by no other name than a tree-goose ; which place aforesaid, and all those parts adjoining, do so much abound therewith, that one of the best is bought for three pence. For the truth hereof, if any doubt, may it please them to re- paire unto me, and I shall satisfie them by the testi- monie of good witnesses." Fig. 1998 represents the illustration given by Gerard of this account. It is apparently intended for a log of wood rising out of the sea crowned with these goosebeaiing shells. We must not suppose that there vrere none who doubted this marvel. Belon, who wrote in 1551, and others, treated it with ridicule ;_ and in Ray's ' Willughby,' published in 1678, we find a refutation of it, only with an admission of spontaneous gene- ration among certain animals of the lower orders. What, it may be asked, were the marine animals supposed to be the origin of this goose ? Simply those singular shell-covered cirrhipedous creatures supported on, or rather attached, often in thousands, to floating timber by means of long flexible worm- like stalks or peduncles. They are known by the name of Bernacles, or Bernicles (Pentelasmis ana- tifera, Leach; Lepas Anatifera, Linn.). The body of these curious creatures is enclosed in a shell not unlike that of a muscle, but composed of five por- tions, one a dorsal stripe : along the interior margin the valves are but partially connected by a mem- brane, leaving a large fissure, through which emerge the ciliated arms or cirrhi, plumose and jointed. The colour of the shell is pale purplish blue. Of these animals we shall hereafter have occasion to speak more particularly. We present a representa- tion of them at Fig. 1999. How it came to pass that the absurd tradition we have briefly detailed arose, is beyond our conjecture. To return to the bernicle goose (for so it is still called), its weight is about five pounds; the bill is black with a reddish streak on each side ; the cheeks and throat, with the exception of a black line from the eye to the beak, white ; head, neck, and shoulders, black ; upper plumage marbled with blue, grey, black, and white. Tail black ; under parts white ; legs dusky. We may here refer to the figures of the bill of various species of goose, pre- sented in order that the differences of form assumed may be the more easily compared together. Fig. 2000 represents the Bill of the Snow Goose (Anser hyperboreus). Fig. 2001, the Bill of the Greylag, already described. Fig. 2(X)2, the figure of the Bill of the Egyptian Goose (Chenalopex jEgyptiacus). Fig. 2003, the Bill of the Bernicle Goose. Fig. 2004, the Bill of the Cereopsis Goose (Cereopsis Novae Hollandise). 2005. — The Egyptian Goose {Chenalopex ^gyptiacus.) The Egyptian Goose is abundant along the banks of the Nile, and is dis- tributed over the continent of Africa generally. It also visits the southern shores of Europe, and is not uncommonly seen in Sicily. According to Tem- minck it was this species which was held in venera- tion by the ancient Egyptians, and of which figures are frequently observed among the monumental remains of that extraordinary nation. The author of 'Egyptian Antiquities,' vol. ii. p. 311 (' Library of Entertaining Knowledge '), also observes that the chenalopex of Herodotus, still very common in Egypt, is of frequent occurrence on the sculptures, though, as he says, it was not a sacred bird, unless it may have some claims to that honour from having been a fa- vourite article of food for the priests. "A place in upper Egypt had its name Chenobosciura or Che- noboscia (goose-pens) from these animals being fed there, probably for sale.'" There is good reason, however, to believe that the ordinary common goose was kept, as well as the chenalopex. The ancients regarded the eggs of this species as second in flavour only to those of the pea-fowl. yElian mentions the bird, and notices its cunning and wariness. Hence the word xi''«^<>"")?' f''o™ xn^, a goose, and d\tinst)t, a fox. The Egyptian goos-e is often kept because of its beauty in a semi-domesticated state on orna- mental sheets of water, both in our country and on the continent, and in that condition it breeds freely ; hence it happens that the young when fledged often take wing, and wandering about on rivers or lakes, are shot : a circumstance, as Mr. Gould observes, which Occurs yearly. The habits of this goo»e closely resemble those of the rest of the tribe. The bill is long, slender, and nearly straight, rounded at the tip ; the upper mandible is slightly curved, and the nail hooked ; refer to Fig. 2002. The tarsi are elongated ; the neck is long and slender ; the general contour compact. H 2 1M4.— B«u OooM. 2001.— Bill of Grejr Ug Goon. 1993,— Canada Goom. 1*99,— Bemiele Gooae. 2000.— Bill of Snow^Gooae. 1997. — Bemicle Goose-tree. (From Aldrorand.) 199«,— B«rnicl« Gooae, SOO!.— Bill of Egyptian Gooae. 1998.— Bernicles transfopming into Geese. (From Gel 52 2003.— Egyptian Goose. 2003 — Bill of Bernicle Goose. ^^#' -»<^> 2004.— Bill of Oreojxia Gooie. '___-■ ,-.^'^-=^;- ~'-,;->^'' ^-V*^' V *. ^ .^ *^-^_^ __1i^'* 200?ri'fJ'^^ tOlt.— QooiHidan. 20U.— Foot of Mergtnaer. >0M.— Smewi »0 10. -Ancient Egyptian Painting. tOIS.— Eaml Greon. son.— Hull of Onbe. 8018.— Northern Diver. MU.— Funkeet Ank . 2080 Bill of Guillemot. 202<.— Black Ouillemotf. 2019.— Foolish Onillemots. 2028 Gizzard of Little Auk. 20S6.— I'uffm. No, 58. Vol. II. 2013.— Great Auk. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] |OST.-Uttl« Aak. 57 98 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Puffins. Family ALCADM (AUKS. GUILLEMOTS, and PUFFINS). The AlcadtB are equally well adapted for the water as the Colymbidae ; indeed, the power of the winjp u organs of flight is more circumscribe J, and in one species they are useful only as paddles for assisting in aquatic progression. The legs are extremely short, but iwwerl'ul, placed posteriorly, so that in resting on the rocks the birds assume an upright attitude, the whole of the tarsus as well as the toes being applied to the surface. The toes are usually only three in number, and fully webbed; when the hind-toe exists it is in a rudimentary condition. The bill varies in form in the different genera; but is generally compressed, and often grooved at the sides. Unlike the Colymbidae, the AlcadtB are strictly oceanic, never resorting to fresh water. Fishes, Crustacea, and other marine produc- tions, constitute their food. They are natives of the northern hemisphere, the Pens;uins (Spheniscida;, Bonap.) taking their place in the southern. 2019. — ^The Foolish Guillemot ( Una Troile). In the genus Una the bill is moderate, robust, straight, acute, and compressed ; j nostrils basal ; the limbs short, the tarsi alone appearing to emerge from the body ; tail very thort. Fig. 2020 represents the Bill of the Guille- mot; Fig. 2021, the Foot. The Foolish Guillemot, so called from suffering itself to be taken rather than quit the single egg over which it broods, is found in the Arctic seas of the Old and New World ; in winter the immense flocks which have left their breeding places, for they are migratory in their habits, pass along the coasts of Norway and England^ Holland, and France, and abound in the Baltic. According to Nuttall, the great body of American birds of this species take their course along the whole coast of Hudson's Bay. Labrador, and Newfoundland, and winter in the Bay of Fundy. In spring the flocks which were scattered over the bays, gulfs, and seas of the temperate latitudes, where food was abundant, re- turn to their old breeding haunts. In our island they make their appearance towards the end of March or the beginning of April, and tenant in myriads the Orkneys, the Bass Rock, the isolated Sillars of trap-rock in the Farn Islands, the cliffs of carborough, and the Needles and cliffs of the Isle of Wight, as well as other places. Here, associated with razor-bills, puffins, and other sea-fowl, they cover the ledges of the precipitous rocks, ranged in tiers ; the guillemots in crowded rows, each female sitting in an upright position on her own egg, which she has deposited on the narrow naked ledge ; all living in harmony together ; the appearance made by the congregated multitude in a dense mass is very curious. Incubation lasts a month ; the young, which are at first clad in a thick down, of a blackish grey colour above, white beneath, are plentifully supplied with young herrings, sprats, and other fish, till in the course of five or six weeks they acquire their plumage, and, taking to the water, depend upon their own exertions. The egg is of a pale green, stained with black and umber-brown. In the autumn the guillemots leave the rocks, and betake themselves entirely to the ocean, where the old birds undergo a moult, in which the black of the throat and sides of the neck is exchanged for ■white, the black being reassumed the following spring. At this time, from the loss of so many of the quill-feathers, they are often for a short time unable to fly ; but as they are out at sea, and dive on the approach of danger with astonishing quick- ness, this is of little consequence. The flocks now gradually pass southwards, following the shoals of fishes which leave our coasts, and at length reach the Mediterranean and the coast of Sicily, where they feast upon the anchovy and sardine. On the other hand, a few stragglers from the polar circle visit the friths of Scotland, which appear to be the extent of their southern migration. The flight of the guillemot is sharp and rapid, at a low degree of elevation, but not of long duration. In its summer dress the head and neck of this bird are black, and the feathers of a velvety texture ; the upper surface is sooty black ; the under plumage white ; bill and legs black. Length fifteen inches. In the young of the year the black of the upper parts is clouded with ash colour ; ashy brown pre- dominates on the lower part of the neck ; and the white of the lower parts is not so pure. 2022.— The Black Guillemot (Uria Grylie). The Black Guillemot inhabits the same range of countries as the preceding species, and migrates southwards in winter along the borders of the ocean. It is rare on the English coast, but breeds abundantly in the Orkney and Shetland Isles, on the ledges of the rocks, and, according to Selby, Gould, and others, lays a single egg of a greyish white speckled with black and dusky grey. Both Nuttall and Audubon, however, affirm that in the northern districts of America this species lays three eggs. "On several occasions," says the latter ob- server, " at Labrador some of my party and myself saw several black guillemots sitting on eggs, in the same fissure of a rock, where every bird had three eggs under it" For the reception of these eggs, according to the same authority, the birds raise a sort of nest or fabric of pebbles to the height of two or three inches, in order that the water trickling through the fissures and recesses of the rock may not reach the eggs. Dr. Richardson states that this species abounds in the Arctic seas and straits from Melville Island down to Hudson's Bay, and remains, though in diminished numbers, during winter in the pools of open water, which occur, even in high latitudes, among the floes of ice. In summer the colour of this species is black, with a white band across the wings. In winter the old birds have the cheeks, throat, and all the under plumage pure white ; these parts ac- quiring at tne vernal moult the sooty black which remains during the summer. 2023.— The Great Auk (Alca impamis). The true Auks are strictly oceanic birds, never leaving the water, except for the purpose of incubation. They breed, associated together in vast flocks, on the ledges of precipices, in caverns, and deep fissures. They dive with great ease, and using their wings, pursue their finny prey, deep below the surface, with wonderful rapidity. The young are fed from the crops of the parents, even some time after they leave their " rocky lair," and swim feariessly amidst the waves. Awkward as the movements of these birds are on shore, they shuffle along with considerable dispatch. The bill is deep, compressed, and cultrated; the upper mandible arched and hooked ; the nostrils are nearly hidden by the feathers of the forehead ; the wings short. In the Great Auk the wings are so reduced as to be incapable of serving the purpose of flight, but they are most efficient paddles, aiding its progress beneath the water. This fine species is a native of the Arctic circle ; its visits to the northern islands of Scotland are very rare ; Dr. Fleming gives the account of one which was taken alive at St. Kilda in 1822. And one was ineffectually chased by Bullock, during his tour to the northern isles, 1813, who followed in a six-oared boat, and found himself, despite the exertions of the men, completely dis- tanced. It was ultimately shot, allowing the boat- men, to whom it appeared indifferent, to approach within gun range. The one described by Dr. Fleming swam under water with a long and heavy cord tied to its leg, making way with extraordinary rapidity. The great auk is frequent about the coasts of Norway and Iceland, but still more so around the icy shores of Greenland and Spitzbergen, where it breeds in tha clefts and caverns of rocks, above the highest tides. The female lays a single egg, as large as that of a swan, of a whitish yellow marked with numerous lines and strokes of black. Fish and various Crustacea constitute the food of this species ; its favourite prey is said to be the lump-fish (Cyclopterus lurapus). The great auk measures nearly three feet in length. The upper plumage is deep black, w ith the exception of a large patch of white on the forehead and around the eyes, and a slight band of white on the wing; under plumage white ; bill and legs dull black. In winter the cheeks, throat, fore-part and sides of the neck are white. 2021.— The Razor-bill Auk {Alca Tarda). In this species the wings are capable of short but rapid flight ; they are also used as oars in the water. The Razor-bill is common in tlie higher latitudes of the northern, and plentiful on the rocky coasts of our island, where it breeds with guillemots and puffins ; it tenants the Needles and adjacent cliffs of the Isle of Wight, and the eggs, which are esteemed a delicacy, are taken in great numbers. As the chalk-cliffs there are six hundred feet in elevation, the islanders reach them from above by descending the perpendicular cliffs much in the same perilous manner as is practised by the Norwegians and hardy natives of the Feroe Islands. They drive a large stake, or bar of iron, into the top of the cliff, and to this they fasten astrongrope, with a stick put crosswise at the end, for the support of the adventurer, who is lowered down the front of the horrid precipice. If his object is to secure the eggs only, he shouts to scare away the birds, which rise in countless numbers ; but if he wishes to secure the birds, for the sake of the feathers, he goes to work in silence, and either catches them in their holes, or knocks them down with a stick as they fly out ; the soft feathers are valuable, and find a ready market; the flesh is worthless, but is used by the fishermen as baits for crab-pots, &c. The same mode is practised in the Isle of Man. On the coast of Labrador thousands of these birds are killed for the sake of the breast-feathers, which are close, warm, and elastic ; and the eggs are collected in incredible multitudes. Each female, however, only lays one egg, large in proportion, and pointed, of a yellowish white blotcJied with dark Drown. The razor-bill is fifteen inches long. The head, neck, and upper plumage are black, with a distinct white line from the beak to the eye, and a narrow bar across the wings ; under parts white ; bill black, with a white band down the sides of each mandible ; legs black. In winter the tliroat and fore-part of the neck are white. 2025, 2026.— The Puffin or Coulterneb (Mormon Fratercula, Temm.). Fratercula arctica, Brisson ; Alca arctica, Linn. ; Mormon arcticus, Illiger. In this genus the bill is short, nearly as deep as long, and very compressed, the edge of the upper mandible being thin and sharp; the nostrils are slits on the border of the upper mandible near the base ; the sides are marked by oblique ridges and furrows, and a loose puckered skin surrounds the corners of the mouth. Two horny appendages are placed on the eyelids ; the smaller one above, the larger beneath the eye. In its general form and habits the puffin resembles the guillemot and razor-bill : it has the same thick rounded contour, the same address in the water, and the same rapid flight The puffin is extensively spread through the Arctic circle, whence it migrates southwards in winter. It is a native of our islands, visiting us from the south about the middle of April, and departing for the coasts of Spai:'. and Italy in August. It is common on various parts of our shores; is numerous at the Needles and cliffs of the Isle of Wight, and upon Priestholm Island, off the coast of Anglesea; many resort to the Farn Islands. In the latter place, according to Mr. Selby, there being no rabbits, the burrows of which it can usurp, it selects such spots as are covered with a stratum of vegetable mould, and digs a burrow for itself in which to incubate. The puffins " commence this operation about the first week of May, and the hole is generally excavated to the depth of three feet, often in a curving direction, and occasionally with two entrances. When engaged in digging, which is principally performed by the males, they are sometimes so intent upon their work as to admit of being taken by the hand ; and the same may also be done during incubation. At this period I have frequently obtained specimens by thrusting my arm into the burrow, though at the risk of receiving a bite from the powerful sharp- edged bill of the old bird. At the farther end of this hole the single egg is deposited, which in size nearly equals that of a pullet." On rocky coasts, as the cliffs of the Isle of Wight, the puffin selects the crevices and fissured recesses of the precipice for its breeding retreat. The young are at first covered with blackish down, and in about a month are sufficiently plumed to follow their parents to sea. The puffin is an admirable diver : it may be often seen perched on the ledge of a bold precipice peering with its keen eyes into the glassy water below, — suddenly, it throws itself headlong into the abyss, cleaving the waves, which sparkle as they close over it. Soon, however, it reappears, laden with a row of sprats, its favourite food, which hang from the bill, their heads being secured between the mandibles; and now, taking a curved sweep upwards, it bears them to its young. In the puffin, the crown of the head, the upper parts of the body, and a collar round the neck are black ; the cheeks pearl-grey ; the horny append- ages to the eyelids leaden-grey; the bill, deeply furrowed, is bluish grey at the base, the middle being rich orange-red, which deepens into fine red I at the tip ; legs orange red. Length thirteen inches. The young have the beak small and smooth, and of a dull yellow; and the general plumage more dusky. 2027.— The Little Auk {Mergulus mdanoleucus, Ray). Uria alle, Temm. ; Alca alle, Linn. ; Rotch and Sea-Dove, Provincial. This active little bird is intermediate between the auks and guillemots; the bill is not so long and pointed as in the latter, yet not compressed and furrowed as in the former; it is short, stout, and broader than deep at the base. Tlie Little Auk is a native of the Arctic circle, and is recognised as a winter visitor to the coasts of Scotland : Mr. Selby suggests that a few may perhaps breed upon the extreme rocky islands of the north of that part of our country, but of this we have no definite inform- ation ; on the coasts of England it is rarely seen, and then only when driven by storms and adverse winds from its northern home. It abounds on the bleak coasts of Greenland and Spitzbergen, and thousands have been seen at Melville Island. When the floes of ice are broken up by the wind, myriad* of these birds may be seen riding on the waves Penguins.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 59 busily engaged in searching for various marine animals, which are tossed up by the agitated waters. The ocean is its home and resting-place, except during the season of incubation, when it resorts in thousands to the ledges of precipitous rocI;s, on which the female deposits her single egg, of a pale bluish green. Its flight is rapid, but low, and never long sustained. This species is about nine inches long. The head, back of the neck, and upper plu- mage are black ; under plumage white ; a narrow- white bar across the wing; the throat, neck, and upper part of the breast pitch-black in summer, more or less white in winter. Fig. 2028 shows the Gizzard and Proventriculus of tills bird laid open: the latter is remarkable for its peculiar form. 2029. — The Pakiiakeet Auk {Phaleris Psittaculd). Alca psittacula, Pallas. This species, which has the habits and manners of the preceding, differs in the form of the beak, of which the upper mandible is swollen, and bent at the tip, and the under mandible enlarged and turned upwards. It is a native of the Arctic circle, and swims and dives with great facility. The female lays a single egg, nearly equalling that of a fowl, of a yellowish white colour with brown spots. The length of this species is about eleven inches. From behind the eye springs a tuft of white feathers, which hang down the side of the neck. General colour above, black, gradually blending into the white of the under parts. It is common on the north-western coast of America. Family SPHENISCIDiE (PENGUINS). The Prince ofCanino, in his ' Specchio generale del Sistema Ornitologico,' regards, we think correctly, the penguins as constituting a distinct family. They are birds utterly incapable of flight, having their paddle-wings with short rigid scale-like feathers disposed in regular order ; the tarsi are placed so completely behind that in resting the birds assume naturally an upright attitude ; the toes are webbed ; the tarsi very short and stout. These birds are es- sentially aquatic, seldom visiting the shore except during the breeding season, and their progress on land is very singular : while swimming they are immersed above the breast. All are natives of the colder seas of the southern hemisphere. The bones, unlike those of birds in general, are hard, compact, and heavy, and have no apertures for the admission of air ; those of the extremities containing an oily marrow. 2030, 2031. — The Patagonian Penguin (Aptenodytes Patachonica). King Penguin; le grand Manchot of the French. This strange bird, which, among its own class, seems to be the analogue of the seals among mam- malia, is admirably adapted for oceanic habits. The vfhole of its osseous and muscular structure, its tough oily skin, and the character of its close and rigid plumage, at once indicate its mode of life. We may here observe that a very elaborate account of the anatomy of the penguin by Mr. Reid will be found in the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' for 1835. Though often alluded to by voyagers and navi- gators, the manners and habits of the Patagonian penguin have been very imperfectly understood. Its range of habitation is restricted to the latitudes south of the line, but within this boundary it is widely distributed, being abundant not only in the Straits of Magellan, and on all the adjacent islands, but extending to Au-stralia, through the islands of the South Pacific. If Clusius be right, the first discovery of these birds was by the Dutch, in 1598, who met with them on some islands near Port Desire, to which they came in order to breed ; and the sailors called them penguins, or pingouins, and the islands the Penguin Islands. "These singular birds," adds Clusius, " are without wings, having in their place two membranes, which hang down on each side like little arms ; their neck is thick and short, their skin hard and tough, like that of a hog ; the young weighed ten or twelve pounds, but the old ones about sixteen, and their size was generally that of a goose." Forster, however, mea.sured some thirty-nine inches long and thirty pounds in weight ; he remarks, that they were met with in troops on New Georgia, and that such was their stupidity, that they allowed themselves to be approached, so that the sailors knocked them down with sticks. (See ' Second Voyage of Captain Cook,' vol. iv.) Bougainville, who met witlj them in the Falkland Isles, observes that they love solitai-y and remote spots ; he also well describes their colour, and notices an attempt made to tame one and bring it to Europe, but for want of proper food it became meagre and died. Beyond the facts, however, that they associate in vast bodies, sitting upright on the beach, in close array ; that they are destitute of the fear of man, in lonely islands where man had never been before ; and that they are incapable of flight, Vol. II. we gain but little positive information from the relations of the earlier navigators. Fortunately, more attention is now directed to natural history than formerly ; and several individuals have recorded their personal observations on the habits of the animals met with on their journeys and voyages, to say nothing of naturalists who expressly travelled for the purpose of acquiring knowledge in this de- partment of science. In the 'Zool. Proc' lor 1835 is an account of the penguin, by Mi-. G. Bennett, which we shall take the liberty of transcribing. This able naturalist, to whom science is indebted for many original observations, and whose v.ork, en- titled 'Wanderings,' &c., is well known, paid much attention to the Patagonian, or king penguin, which he met with in various islands in the high southern latitudes ; and he describes particularly a colony of these birds, which covers an extent of thirty or forty acres at the north end of Macquarrie Island, in the South Pacific Ocean. "The number of penguins collected together in this spot is immense, but it would be almost im- possible to guess at it with any near approach to truth, as, during the whole of the day and night, thirty or forty thousand of them are continually landing, and an equal number going to sea. They are arranged, when on shore, in as compact a manner and in as regular ranks as a regiment of soldiers; and are classed with the greatest order, the young birds being in one situation, the moulting birds in another, the sitting hens in a third, the clean birds in a fourth, &c. ; and so strictly do birds in similar condition congregate, that should a bird that is moulting intrude itself among those which are clean, it is immediately ejected from among them. " The females hatch the eggs by keeping them close between their thighs; and if approached during the time of incubation, move away, carrying the eggs with them. At this time the male bird goes to sea and collects food for the female, which becomes very fat. After the young is hatched, both parents go to sea, and bring home food for it ; it soon becomes so fat as scarcely to be able to walk, the old birds getting very thin. They sit quite upright in the roosting-places, and walk in the erect position until they arrive at the beach, when they throw themselves on their breasts in order to encounter the very heavy sea met with at their land ing-place." Although the appearance of penguins generally indicates the neighbourhood of land, Mr. G. Bennett cited several instances of their occurrence at a considerable distance from any known land. The observations of Mr. Bennett are confirmed by Lieut. Liardet, from whom was obtained the specimen dissected by Mr. Reid.'* They assemble on the shore, herd together in vast bodies, forming a dense phalanx, all moving and acting in concert together; one party going otF to sea, — another party returning, — another remaining in array on the beach. They appear to be very peaceable among each other, but are sometimes observed to fight, striking with the posterior edge of the wing. Should a person attempt to lay hold of them, they not only use their wings but their beak, which is a far more formidable weapon, and capable of inflicting a severe wound. Cuttle-fishes appear to constitute the greater part of their food ; in the stomach of the specimen dissected was found a considerable number of the horny pariot-like beaks of these molluscous animals. Their mode of walking is very singular ; it is a sort of awkward waddle, the body turning with the action of the limbs in motion, which cross each other alternately; it is, in fact, an "over-handed" mode of progression, if the word be allowed, producing a strange and ludicrous effect. We see a tendency to it in the waddle of the duck and other swimming-birds. During the period of incubation the females all assemble together, sitting upright on a kind of general nest of loosely-arranged sticks, which they carry to the selected spot in their bills, and flourish if then approached, as if in defiance of the intruder on their secluded haunt. They lay but one egg, of a whitish colour, and twice the size of that of the goose ; this they carry between their thighs, supporting it beneath by the short stiff tail, which is bent underneath it. 'The young are covered with thick soft down, of a brownish grey ; in this state the bird is the woolly penguin of Latham, which must not be regarded as a distinct species, but as the king penguin in nestling plumage. At night they utter loud moaning noises in concert, the general chorus of voices resounding to a great distance, and clearly distinguishable from the roar of the surf or lashing of the waves. The flesh of the penguin is rank, and unfit for food ; both the muscles and bones are oily, and the skin is lined with a thick layer of oleaginous fat ; yet more than five hundred were taken in New Year's Island (near Staaten Island), as food for the crew, by the sailors in * This specimen was captured at East FalicUnd Isle, in latitr.de 51° 3B' south. Captain Cook's ship (' Last Voyage, vol. i.), who found them occupying that spot in thousands. There is something in the strange figure and aspect of the penguin well agreeing with the wild, lonely, remote islands in which it congregates. In beholding: a spot on the surface of our globe, ocean- girt, and uninhabited by man, tenanted by thousands of these birds, which for ages — generation after generation — have been the uninterrupted occupiers of the place, we are thrown back upon primeval days ; and we involuntarily recur to the now extinct dodo, and the idea forces itself upon us, that this bird also may, at some future time, become utteily annihilated. The general plumage of the penguin is short, close, glossy, compact, and water-proof; the bill is long, slender, and somewhat bent at the tip; a longitudinal furrow runs along each side of the upper mandible, down which the. feathers of the forehead proceed to a considerable distance, en- tirely concealing the nostrils. The feet consi-st of three toes, with intervening webs, but a fourth rudimentary toe is seated above the base of the first or inner toe on each foot. The eye is small, viewed externally ; but its globe is really large, and it is furnished with a strong membrana nictitans. The height of this species is upwards of three feet ; its colours are beautifully disposed and con- trasted. The bill is black, except the base of the under mandible, which is rich reddish purple, with a plum-like bloom, gradually merging into dusky and ultimately into black ; the top of the head and throat are black, bounded by a belt of fine pure golden yellow, which commences broad on the sides of the head, and becomes narrow in its progress as it runs down to the middle of the neck, where it passes onwards till it blends with the silvery white of the under surface ; the colour of the upper surface of the body and paddles is glossy bluish grey ; each feather, if examined, being dusky black margined with bluish grey, and it is from the over- lapping of the feathers on each other that one uniform tint is produced; the tail, which is short, and indeed can scarcely be called a tail, consists of slender stiflf elastic feathers, bent under the bird, as it sits up on the shore. Fig. 2032 represents the Head, and Fig. 2033 the Foot of the King Penguin. 2034. — The Crested Penguin {Eudypes chrysocoma, Vieillot). Catarrhactes chry- socoma, Brisson ; Aptenodytes chrysocoma, Graelin. This beautiful species inhabits the Falkland Islands, the shores of Patagonia, the island of Tristan d'Acunha, and is often found far out at sea, swimming in pairs. Lesson killed individuals in 43° 8' 38" S. lat., and 5G° 50' 49" W. long. It has obtained the name of jumping penguin, from its habit of leaping quite out of the mater, not only in order to avoid obstacles, but apparently as if for sport. It is le Gorfou sauteur of Cuvier. The crested penguin, says Latham, " appears to be more lively than the others, but, in fact, they are stupid birds, so as to admit of being knocked down with sticks when on land, and are frequently so regardless as to suffer themselves to be taken by the hand. When enraged they erect their crests in a very beautiful manner. They make their nests among those of the pehcan tribe, living in tolerable harmony with them." " They are, however, mostly seen by themselves, seldom mixing with other penguins, and are often met with on the outer shores where they have been bred. The females incubate in burrows, which they easily form by means of their bill, throwing out the earth with their feet ; in these holes the egg is deposited on the bare ground." " We learn, from the ' Embassy to China,' that these birds were found in vast abundance in the island of Amsterdam, often basking and standing erect in company with the seals." Captain Carmichael, in his description of the island of Tristan d'Acunha, states, respecting this species, that it " conceals itself among the long grass, and in the bottom of ravines where they open upon the shore. Here these birds assemble in countless multitudes, and keep up a moaning noise, which can be heard at a great distance from the mountain." He adds that " in many birds I had an opportunity of examining the pupil was contracted to -biU. 2099.— Gmt Bluk-buked Gali. /.^ ft^n^)>i>-'A>vv [M48.— CominOB Trn». tOM.— Gizzard of Sea-Metr. 2037.— Langtiing Gulls. 64 :^ 2060.— Gannet. 2059.— Tropic Bird. SOM.— Bwby, or Brown Ouinet. 4063.— Fowlers of St. Kilib. 2064.— Pelicans. tMl. — Gixiard of G&nnet. No. 59. — Vol.. II. 2069.— Foot of Pelican. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] !0M.— Hod of Pelican. 65 66 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Gulls. the Muid or thint^le above high-water mark, the fe- male depositing two or three epp in a slight cavity, upon which she seldom broods dfuring the middle of the day, if the weather be sultry, but sits on them at night. The young birds are at first clothed in mot- tled down, and are carefully guarded by the parents, who are watchful and clamorous in their defence, and sweep close around the head of the intruder. The bill of the species is red. passing into black at the lip. The top of the head is black, becoming mixed with white m winter; back and wings delicate ashy grey ; rump and fail white ; chest pearl grey. The outer web of the outer tail-feather, and tirst quill-feather, blackish ; legs file red. Length four- teen inches. The common tern is migratory in its habits, pass- ing southwards in winter. In the northern seas of our island it is rare, its place being supplied by the Arctic and Roseate Terns. The Sterna Hirundo of Wilson is a distinct species, and has been re-named by the Prince of Musignano as the Sterna Wilsonii ; its habitat is the coast of Nottli America. 2050.— The Noddy (Amous stolidus, Leach). Megalopterus stolidus, Boie : Sterna siolida, Linn. This species is only an accidental visitor to the coasts of Europe, its principal range of habitat being confined to the Gulf of Mexico, the coasts of Flori- da, the Bahamas, the Tortugas, and the neighbour- hood of St. Helena. Two specimens were shot off Wexfoi-d in Ireland, in 1830. It is familiar to all mariners who navigate in the equatorial regions, and is often seen in flocks hundreds of leagues from land ; assiduously pursuing its finny prey, and utter- ing loud and discordant cries. Occasionally it alights on vessels, and suffers itself to be captured, probably being exhausted by fatigue from wander- ing so far away from a resting-place. Mr. Gould remarks, that the noddy, unlike the generality of Terns, builds in bushes or on low trees, making a large nest of twigs and dried grass ; and while hovering round it, the old birds utter a low querulous murmur. The eggs are three in number, of a reddish yellow, blotched with dull red and purple. It does not plunge down upon its prey, like the other Terns, but as it skims along the water, during its rapid progress. The wings when closed extend beyond the tail, which is rounded, not forked. Plumage sooty black, forehead white, passing into grey and gradually blending with the general tint. Bill and feet black. 2051. — The Scissabs-Bill •{Rynchops nigra). Sea Skimmer, Sheawater, Cut-water ; Piscator of the Chilians. This extraordinary bird, whose beak differs from Ihat of all its oceanic allies, is very extensively spread ; it ranges along the east and west coast of America; is not uncommon on the coasts of Mala- bar, and Coromandel, and on those of Senegal in Africa. Catesby describes it as frequent near the sea-coasts of Carolina ; Lesson found it in thousands off the coasts of Concepcion (Chili) ; and Mr. Darwin observes that he saw it on the east and west coasts of South America between latitudes thirty and forty-five degrees ; and adds, that it is abundant far inland along the course of the Rio Paiana, where it is said to be stationary, breeding in the marshes. The scissars-bill is about twenty inches in length, the neck being elongated ; its stretch of wing, how- ever, is very great, giving a measurement of three feet six or eight inches; the mandibles of the bill are very compressed, and the lower, which is much the longest, bears no distant resemblance to a sharp and slender paper-cutter ; its length is about five inches ; the upper mandible is more than an inch shorter, more pointed, and rather stouter, having its inferior edge channelled with a groove for the re- ception of the lower blade, which shuts somewhat like a razor into its handle. Both mandibles are orange-red at the base, but gradually become black. Figs. 2052, 5053, and 20ij4 show the bill of this bird in different positions. The tail is forked. Everlastingly traversing the surface of the water, this extraordmary bird flies with the celerity of an arrow ; and with the tip of the lower mandible cleav- ing the liquid surface, it seizes and swallows its prey, namely, fishes and various Crustacea. In this manner flocks skim to and fro, busy in thus plough- ing the waves, each bird leaving its narrow wake as it dashes on in a wild irregular course, uttering loud harsh cries of exultation. Catesby says that the scissars-bill frequents the oyster banks on the coast of Carolina, for the purpose of feeding on those moUusks ; Linneeus states that besides fishes and Crustacea, shell-fish form part of its diet, and Lesson observes," we had proof that this bird knew how to use its beak with advantage and the greatest ad- dress. The sandy beaches of Penco are covered with mactrae (bivalve shells) which the ebbing tide leaves nearly dry in small shallows. The scissars- bill, well aware of this, places itself near these mol- hisks, waiting till the valves are a little opened, when it immediately thrusts in the lower trenchant blade of its bill between them ; they immediately close, and the bird then raises the shell and beats it a>;ainst the beach so as to cut the contractor muscle of the mollusk, which it then easily obtains and swallows. Many times have we been witnesses of this highly-perfected instinct." The scissars-bill breeds in small flocks in marshes, on sand-banks, and low islands ; the egi;s are three in number, of a clear white, spotted with different shades of ash. The general colour of this species is dark umber-brown, approaching black over the wings and upper surface ; forehead, cheeks, throat, chest, and under parts white : a slight bar of white across the wings ; feet red-lead colour. From this bird we pass to the Gulls. Attache's of the sea, from whose stol-es they derive their support, the Gulls on ample slowly-flapping pinions are sure to attract the notice of all who visit the coast, and the mouths of our larger rivers. Easy and buoyant is their flight, as they sail along in wide circles, in- tent upon the watere beneath. Let the gale blow, and the billows roll, there are they making head against the wind, and performing the most graceful evolutions. Though the gulls float on the water, they do not dive, but, pouncing down, skim their food from the surface, or pick it up on the muddy beach when the tide has retired. Fish, Crustacea, mollusks, and dead animal matters constitute their nourishment. They breed in companies, some along the shore, others on the banks of small islets, or reefs ; some in marshes, othera on bold rocks. They un- dergo a double moult, but that of the spring is only partial. Their plumage is deep, full, and soft. The group is spread throughout all latitudes. 2055. — The Grkat Black-backed Gull {Larus marinus). Among the various species of Gull which haunt our shores, this fine species may be often noticed flying alone or in pairs, and known by its superior size, its black mantle, and wings. It is common in the Oreades and Hebrides ; and migrating south in winter, visits the coasts of Hol- land and France, both in spring and on the approach of the cold season. In very high latitudes it is rare ; and is seldom seen in Baffin's Bay, though it is by no means unfrequent along the coast of the States of North America. Its cry is loud and hoarse. Among its breeding places in the British Islands may be named the Steep-holme, and Sandy Islands in the Bristol Channel, Souliskerry in the Orkneys, the Bass Islands in the Frith of Forth, and the marshes at the mouth of the Thames. It builds a nest of rushes, grass, &c. ; the eggs are three or four in number, of an olive-green blotched with black. In its habits it is very wary, and its appetite is vora- cious. We may here observe that in the genus Larus the bill is strong, straight, and cultrated; the upper mandible is curved at the tip ; the lower mandible has a projecting angle, and thence slopes obliquely upwards to the point ; the nostrils are placed in the middle of the beak, and are oblong and narrow. Fore-toes webbed, hind-toe small. Fig. 2056 repre- sents the stomach of a species of Larus, laid open. ' 2057. — The Black-headed, or Laughing Gull {Xema ridihundm). Larus ridibundus, Linn. The species of the genus Xema (Leach) are dis- tinguished by a more slender bill, a slighter contour, and by the head being black in summ'er, which co- lour is lost on the approach of winter, and resumed in the spring. The laughing gull is common during the winter on our coasts and those of temperate Europe; but leaves the sea on the approach of spring, and visits the lakes and fenny districts of ihe interior of the country, for the purpose of breeding. Here it makes a nest of decayed grass among the tufts of rushes, the female laying three or four eggs of a pale olive-brown, blotched with black and grey. The young are covered with parti-coloured down, but soon become fledged, and towards the end of June begin with their parents their course from the in- terior seawards. Formerly the eggs and young were held in estimation, and, according to Mr. Sel- by, a gullery has produced a revenue of from fifty to eighty pounds a-year to the proprietor. He no- tices the large pond at Pallinsburn in Northumber- land, and other localities in the neighbourhood, as annually visited by flocks of these birds ; and Wil- lughby states that in his time they yearly built and bred " at Norbury in Staffordshire, on an island in the middle of a great pool," arriving about the begin- ning of March, and incubating towards the end of April. The young were taken and fattened for the table, to the number of one thousand two hundred annually, and sold at a high price. The head of this species is a dark blackish brown, the bill deep crimson : the general plumage pearl grey above, white beneath ; wings long and pointed ; legs blood red. In winter the head is white. Earthworms, slugs, aquatic insects, constitute its summer diet, and it otten visits ploughed lands in quest of the larvie of the cockchatfer; in winter it feeds upon small fish and crustacea. 2058. — The Arctic Skua Gull {Lestrig j>ayasiticus). Catarrhactes parasiticus, Fleming ; Larus parasiticus, Linn. Unlike the true gulls, the Skua or Parasitic Gulls are birds of rapacious habits, and are bold and de- structive, resembling in many points birds of prey. Fish is their usual food ; like the sea-eagle, now- ever, they seldom obtain their livelihood by their own honest exertions, but attacking the ordinary spe- cies, they force them to give up their booty, or to disgorge if, if swallowed, and sweeping down with arrow-like velocity catch it before it reaches the water. They have the beak strong and thick with an extended cere at the base, and hooked at the point ; the claws are large and sharp, the inner one the most robust and curved ; the wings are long and pointed; the tail rounded, with the two middle fea- thers prolonged and narrow. Their flight is astonish- ingly rapid, and performed in successive curves, so that it bears no resemblance to the flagging undu- lating and wheeling course of the gulls (Larus). Three species tenant the northern shores of our island and the higher latitudes : namely, the common skua, a large and fierce bird, which hesitates not to assault the eagle, should the latter venture within the limits of its breeding territory ; the Pomarine skua, and the Arctic skua. The Arctic skua is widely distributed over the high northern latitudes, and is to be met with in the polar seas both of Europe and North America: it breeds upon several of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, congregating in small flocks ; and the young in autumn repair to the northern coasts in England as well as those of the Scottish mainland, harassing the gulls that follow the shoals of herring, which at that season approach the shore ; the adults, how- ever, are rarely met with so far south, but after the breeding season migrate, as it would appear, east- ward, returning to the Orkneys in May. It is com- mon along the Baltic, and the coasts of Norway and Sweden, as well as on the lakes of the interior. The young accidentally visit Holland, Germany, France, and Switzerland. The flight of this species is very swilt, and its aerial evolutions while persecuting the more peaceful fishes of the sea are extremely beau- tiful ; but would interest the more, did we not know the injury it is inflicting on the unfortunate objects of its attack. Its nest is composed of dry grass ; the eggs are two in number, of a dark olive- green, blotched with liver-brown. The Arctic skua defends its nest with great determination, and cou- rageously darts at the intruder within its territory, striking at the head both with beak and wings; it also feigns lameness in the manner of the lapwing. In perfect plumage the forehead is whitish, the fop of the head blackish brown ; all the under parts pure white ; upper parts ashy brown, passing into blackish on the quills and tail, of which latter the two middle feathers exceed the rest by four or five inches. Bill bluish ; legs black. Length fifteen inches. Family PELECANm./E (PELICAKS, CORMO- BAiNTS, DARTERS, &c.). In the birds of this family, with the exception of the Tropic Birds, the cheeks, throat, and parts about the base of the bill are more or less denuded of feathers ; the skin of the throat is very dilatable ; the tongue is small, and the nostrils are mere slits, not easily distinguishable. The beak is long, but varies in form. All the toes are united by webs, the hind-toe having an oblique direction inwards, instead of being directed completely backwards. Notwithstanding this form of the foot, and this po- sition of the hind-toe, with an ample web connecting it to the innermost of the anterior toes, the birds perch with facility on trees, and in the gannets we find the claw of the middle toe serrated. Wings ample ; flight rapid and enduring. The air-cells of the body are amazingly extensive. 2059. — The Common Tropic Bird {Phaeton cetherius). The genus Phaeton, by some regarded as belonging to the Laridae (Gulls), is cha- racterized by a strong, compressed, elongated, and pointed bill with dentilated edges; the nostrils are linear; the cheeks are feathered; the legs are very small and short ; the wings long and pomted ; the tail short ; with the exception of two long, slender, but wiry feathers. The navigator well knows these birds as har- bingers of the tropics, where, far from land, they may be seen soaring over the ocean, or giving chase to the flying-fishes, which rise in glittering shoals above the surface of the waves. Their flight is extremely graceful : they often glide along, without Pelicans.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 67 any apparent motion of the wings, but sometimes dait onwards by a succession of rapid impulsive movements, cleavinE: the air with great velocity. On the appearance of a vessel, they generally make towards it, sail round and round it, and then shoot away, to give chase to their finny prey. It is seldom that these birds are seen many degrees beyond the tropics, though occasionally they are driven out of the limits of their ordinary range by storms. The tropic bird rarely, if ever, settles on the water ; but usually returns to its roosting-place in the evening, where it perches on trees or craggy rocks. In serene weather it is sometimes observed to settle on the backs of drowsy turtles, sunning themselves at the surface of the water. Though, as we have said, these birds usually visit their rocky resting-places in the evening, yet in latitudes remote from land they keep during the night, as well as the day, upon the wing. Lesson heard them often over- head in fine calm tropical nights, still pursuing, un- wearied, their rapid course. According to Catesby, they breed on the inaccessible cliffs of the Bermudas, and in great numbers on some little islands at the end of Porto Rico. They are abundant near the islands of Bourhon and Mauritius. The natives of some of the islands within the tropics use the two long tail-feathers as ornaments of dress. The general colour of the tropic bird is white, variegated with curved lines of black on the back : marks of black across some of the quill-feathers, and a circle of the same round the eye, ending in a point near the occiput ; bill fine red ; legs ver- milion. Total length, excluding the long, slender tail-feathers, about eighteen inches. The Red-tailed Tropic Bird (Phaeton phaenicurus) is a distinct spe- cies, and more common in the intertropics of the Great Pacific, while the present species frequents more abundantly those of the Atlantic Ocean. 2060.— The Gannet (Sula Bussana). Fou de Bassan of the French ; Solend-Gans, or Schotten-Gans of the Germans ; Gans of the ancient British ; Solan and Soland Goose, English. In the genus Sula, the bill is long, thick at the base, and tapering to a sharp point ; the edges are denticulated with serrations directed backwards ; beneath the under mandible the skin is naked and dilatabie ; space round the eyes naked ; tail graduated ; claw of middle toe pectonated. Gifted with unwearied powers of wing, the gannet soars over the ocean, surveying its surface with a piercing glance, and darting down with more than arrow-like rapidity on the fish which has unwarily approached the surface. This extraordinary bird is distributed over the Arctic regions of the Old and New World; in Europe, the shores of Norway and the Hebrides are their strongholds; the Bass Rock at the entrance of the Frith of Forth, the Isle of Ailsa at the mouth of the Frith of Clyde, St. Kilda, the Skelig Isles on the Irish coast, and others, are their annual breeding resorts. They are numerous in Iceland, and are found on the coast of Newfound- land, and on the north-west coast of America. The gannet is migratory, arriving at the Bass and other places of resort about the end of March, in vast flocks, for the purpose of incubation. Thousands incubate in harmony together: the nest is composed of withered grasses and sun-dried sea- weeds, and, according to Mr. Selby, the female lays only a single egg, not two, as is stated by Temminck. When first hatched, the young are quite destitute of down, and the skin is of a dark lead colour ; in a few days, however, a white down makes its appearance, and soon becomes so thick and full, that the nestlings look like powder-puffs : in about two months the young are fledged. The Bass Rock and St. Kilda may be regarded as regular gannet farms ; the young are taken in great numbers, not only for the sake of the down, but also of their flesh, which, though oily and rank, is esteemed as a relish, when roasted, in many parts of Scotland ; and in the Edinburgh market, and the markets of various other towns, the birds are sold at the rate of one shilling and eiehtpence each, to the number of many thousands. The eggs also are highly prized, and it is said that twenty-two thousand birds, and an immense quantity of eggs, are annually consumed in St. Kilda alone. The young are cured and dried for winter consumption. The precipitous Bass Rock, according to Mr. Selby, is rented from the proprietor at sixty or seventy pounds a-year ; and the proceeds depend upon the produce of the gannets. " Great care is taken to protect the old birds, which the tenant is enabled to do from the privilege possessed by the proprietor of preventing any person from shooting or otherwise destroying them, within a certain limited distance of the island. From the accounts I have received from the resident there, it appears that the gannet is a very long-lived bird, as he has recognised, from particular and well- known marks, certain individuals for upwards of forty years that invariably returned to the same spot Vol 11. to breed ; he also confirmed to me the time required for this bird to attain maturity, viz., four years, and pointed out several in the different garbs they assume during that period, stating also, that until fully matured, they have never been known to breed." During incubation, in consequence of being unmolested, they become very tame ; and where the nests are easily accessible, upon the flat surface of the rock on the south-west side of the island, will allow themselves to be stroked by the hand without resistance, or any show even of impatience, except the low guttural cry of ffrorj, grog. Dr. Harvey says that the surface of Bass Island is almost entirely covered in the months of May and June with the nests, eggs, and young of the gannet, so that it is scarcely possible to walk without treading on them. The flocks rise in clouds, and make such a stunning noise that it is scarcely possible to hear your com- panion's voice. The sea all round is covered with them, and the flocks in the distance can only be compared to vast swarms of bees. The food of the gannet consists almost exclusively of the different species of herring, on which it plunges from a great altitude, with tremendous lurce and rapidity ; gan- nets have, indeed, been taken by means of a fish fastened to a board sunk to the depth of two fathoms, against which, so violent has been the shock of the bird, that its neck has been instantly dislocated, and the bill firmly fixed in the wood. Thus, plunging from aloft beneath the waves, does the birds pounce upon its finny prey, and again rise into the regions of air with surprising ease and address. Buchanan, in his 'View of the Fishery of Great Britain,' calcu- lated that the gannets of St. Kilda alone destroy annually one hundred and five millions of herrings : yet the shoals of this fish, though man draws his millions also, seem undiminished, notwithstanding the annual havoc made amongst them. On the approach of autumn, the great body of gannets seek more southern latitudes, and in winter are met with in great abundance in the Bay of Biscay and in the Mediterranean, where the anchovy and sardine afford them an ample supply. The general colour of the adult gannet is white ; the top of the head and back of the neck being tinged with yellow, and the quill-feathers black ; bill bluish grey ; naked skin around the eyes dull blue; skin of throat black; webs of the toes dusky ; a bluish streak along the tarsus and upper part of the toes. Length two feet eight or ten inches. The general plumage of the young of the year is dusky grey, which gradually passes into white. Fig. 2061 represents the Gizzard of the Gannet laid open in order to show the extensive solvent glands. 2062. — The Booby, or Biiown Gannet {Svlu fused). Le Fou Brun of the French. This species, called " fou," or booby, from its apathy in allowing itself to be captured or knocked on the head, is a native of desolate islands and rocky shores in the warmer latitudes. Thousands breed at the island of Ascension, on the Bahamas, on the rocky islets of the coast of Cayenne, along the shores of New Spain and the Caracas, as well as of Brazil. It is found also in Rodriguez, the Alacrane Islands, &c. ; but there are several spe- cies between which voyagers do not discriminate. Mr. Gould describes one (S. Australis) from the TasmanianSeas: — " Like the other members of the family," he savs, " this species will allow of its being -taken witli the hand. Some of my specimens were so taken on a rock on the Actaeon Islands." Boobies often alight on vessels, and suffer them- selves to be captured ; and Dampier says that in the Alacrane Islands, on the coast of Yucatan, the crowds of these birds were so great that he could not pass their haunts without being incommoded by their pecking. They were ranged in pairs ; and though he succeeded in making some fly away by the blows he bestowed upon them, the greater number remained in despite of his efforts to make them take wing. Numerous voyasrers have described or alluded to the persecution which the booby experiences from the frigate bird, a fact which Lesson questions, but which seems to be very generally attested. Feuillfie, Leguat, Dampier, Catesby, and many more, narrate their observations respecting the encounter of the frigate bird with the booby ; and Nuttall says, " the boobies have a domestic enemy more steady though less sanguinary in his persecutions than man ; this is the frigate pelican or man-of-war bird, who, with a keen eye descrying his humble vassal at a distance, pursues him without intermission, and obliges him, by blows with his wings and bill, to surrender his finny prey, which the pirate instantly seizes and swallows. . . . The booby utters a loud cry, some- thing in sound betwixt that of the raven and the goose, and this wailing is heard more particularly when pursued by the frigate bird, or when the assemblage happens to be seized with any sudden panic." "Feuillee says, when the boobias " return in bands towards evening from their fishing, the frigate birds arc in waiting, and, dashing upon them, compel them to cry as if for succour, in doing which they disgorge some of the fish which tliey are carrying to their young ones, and thus do the frigate birds profit by the fishing of the boobies, which they then leave to pursue their route." In general manners the booby agrees with our gannet, except that the latter by no means merits the appellation of the former. Both walk awkwardly, and real almost erect, supported, like the cormorant, by the stiff' feathers of the tail. The brown booby is of a general dusky brown above ; whitish beneath, with black primaries ; the naked skin about the face is reddish ; orbits yellow ; legs straw colour. In closing our account of the gannets we refer to Fig. 2063, representing St. Kilda, where, as stated, the solan-goose breeds in thousands, and where quantities of the eggs and young ire taken. They are procured at the hazard of the lives of the daring fowler, who have to clamber on the rocks at a prodigious height above a raging sea, or to be lowered by means of a rope over horrid precipices and hanging in mid air, to take their booty from the shelves and ledges which the birds occupy, regard- less of the roar and din of the voices and wings of myriads of excited birds, mingling with the noise of the rushing waters. 2064, 2065, 20G6, 2067.— The White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus). In the genus Pelecanug the bill is very long, broad, flattened, and straight, with a hooked projection at the extremity of the upper mandible: the nostrils are basal slits; the under mandible is formed of two long, slender flexible branches uniting together at the tip, and enclosing a widely dilatable membranous pouch, which extends to the throat ; tongue rudimentary ; eyes surrounded by a naked space ; body large ; legs sliort ; wings moderately ample ; air-cells of the body extensively developed. Fig. 2068 {represents the Head, Fig. 2069 the Foot, of the Pelican. This magnificent bird is a native of Africa and India, ami the southern provinces of Eastern Europe. It is common on the Danube and Volga, on the lakes of Hungary and Russia, on the Black Sea and along the coasts of Greece, and also in Egypt and the Cape of Good Hope. Hasselquist, who saw this species at Damietta, observes that it visits Egypt in the middle of Sep- tember, arriving in flocks, which form during flight an acute triangle at a great elevation. Dr. von Siebold saw it at Japan. The pelican swims well, but, strictly speaking, does not dive. We have often seen these birds plunge their long beaks and necks under water, and net the fish in their capacious pouches: in their wild state they hover and wheel over the surface of the water, watching the shoals of fish beneath, and suddenly sweeping down, bury themselves in the foaming waves, rising immediately from the water by their own buoyancy, up they soar, the pouch laden with the fish scooped up during their momentary submersion. The number of fish the pouch of this species will contain may be easily imagined when we state that it is so dilatable as to be capable of containing two gallons of water ; yet the bird has the power of contracting this membra- nous expansion, by wrinkling it up under the lower mandible, until it is scarcely to be seen. In shallow inlets, which the pelican often frequents, it nets its prey with great adroitness in the manner already described, and which may be witnessed by observers of these birds in the Zoological Gardens. The pelican chooses remote and solitary islands, isolated rocks in the sea, the borders of lakes and rivers, as its breeding-place. The nest, placed on the ground, is made of coarse grasses, and the eggs, which are white, are two or three in number. While the female is incubating, the male brings fish to her in his pouch, and the young, when hatched, are assiduously attended by the parents, who feed them by pressing the pouch against the breast, so as to transfer the fish from the former into the throats of the young. This action has doubtless given origin to the old fable of the pelican feeding its young with blood drawn from its own breast. Occasionally the pelican perches on trees along the margin of the water, but rocky shores are its favourite haunts. In certain localities they congregate in great num- bers, mixed with other water-fowl, all harmoniously breeding together. Le Vaillant, upon visiting Dassen Eyland, at the entrance of Saldanha Bay, after wading through the surf and clambering up the rocks, beheld an astonishing spectacle : — " All of a sudden there arose from the whole surface of the island an impenetrable cloud, which formed at the distance of forty feet above our heads an im- mense canopy, or rather sky, composed of birds of every species and of all colours ; cormorants, sea- gulls, sea-swallows, pelicans, and I believe the whole winged race of this part of .Africa, assembled on this spot. All their voices mixed together, and modified according to their different kinds, formed K2 ta<».-Felkwi. X07I.— £kuU tad BmJ of Comioniit. 2070.— CormoranL SLiOti.— Pelicans. 2057.— Pelican and Young. £074.— Crested Cormorant. 68 2076. — American Darter ■ Male- ^rwrn-'^^ S075.-la VailUnff Darter. " 2077, — American Darter ; Female. 207!).— QuadrupeJs, BInlf, &c., from Egyptian Antiquities. 2078.— Frigate, or Man-of-War Bird. 69 70 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Cormorants. •uch a horrid music that I was every moment obliged to cover my head to gain a little relief to my ears. The alarm which we spread was so much the more general amone these innumerable legions of birds, as we principally disturbed the females, which were then sittinu ; they had nests, eggs, and young to defend. They were like furious harpies let loose against us, and their cries rendered us almost deaf. They often flew so near us that they flapped tlieir wings in our faces, and, though we tired our pieces repeatedly, we were not able to frighten them ; it seemed almost impossible to disperse this cloud. We could not move one step without crushing either their eggs or young, the earth was entirely strewed with them." The same enthusiastic traveller also narrates, that, on the Klein-brak river, whilst waiting j for the ebb-tide, he saw assembled thousands of pelicans and flamingoes, the white of the former strongly contrasting with the scarlet of the latter. Besides the common pelican, another species (P. crispus, Feldegg) inhabits south-eastern Europe. In America there are two species, the P. trachy- rhynchus, Latham, and the P. fuscus. The former is numerous in the fur countries, where it was found breeding by Dr. Richardson, on small rocky islands, and the brink of cascades. The white pelican, when adult, has the plumage generally of a pure white with a slight rose tinge ; the feathers of the chest are long, firm, and silky, with a tinge of fine straw yellow ; the quill-feathers are black, but nearly concealed beneath the wing- coverts, which are long and pointed and very regu- larly and beautifully disposed: the bill is yellowish, passing info red at the tip ; the sides of the lower mandible and a line down the upper being lead- coloured ; pouch yellow ; legs vivid ; space round the eyes flesh-colour. Length nearly six feet; expanse of wing twelve or thirteen feet. 2070. — The Cormorant (Phalacrocorax, Carbo). In the present genus the bill is long, straight, compressed, with the upper mandible boldlyicurved at the point : the gullet is large and dilatable ; sides of face and throat naked ; nostrils basal and linear; tail ample and rigid. In the Zoological .Journal, vol. iv., Mr. Yarrell has described an additional bone affixed to the occiput of the cormorant, and which he calls a xiphoid bone, giving origin on each side to a long triangular muscle, acting, in addition to the ordinary muscles, upon the lower jaw : he also notices the great length of the os quadrafum. Fig. 2071 re- presents the Skull, 1. and the Dissected Head, 2. of the cormorant. The skull, 1. : a, the occipital ridge ; b, the xiphoid bone ; c, the os quadratum. Dissected head, 2. : a and b, muscles answering to the temporal and massiter; c, the triangular muscle arisinsr from the xiphoid bone and inserted into the lower jaw. The range of the cormorant is very extensive ; it is found on the Ganges of India, over the greater part of Europe, and also in North America. It is abundant in Holland at all seasons, and is common in France and England ; numbers breed on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight, and, according to Selby, on the Farn or Fern Islands ; and flocks may often be seen on sand-banks near our southern coast, on isolated rocks, or sailing up and down near the shore, and up the mouths of the larger rivers. Voracious in the extreme, the cormorant is an unwearied and active fisher, pursuing its prey beneath the water, like the otter, occasionally rising to take breath, and renewing the chase. Eels are said to be a favourite food. The dilatable character of the gullet of this bird permits it to swallow fish of considerable size without difficulty, head foremost : but should the fish be seized transversely, the bird jerks it into the air, and dexterously catches it in the right position as it falls. The cormorant swims so low in the water that nothing but the head, neck, and top of the back appear above the surface ; its tail, composed of stiff elastic feathers, is submerged and used as a rudder in its subaquatic evolutions, and the wings as oars ; the address with which it dives, and the rapidity of its movements, are wonderful, nor less so tire pertinacity with which it pursues its victims. This interesting bird sometimes builds its nest in trees, but generally on the summits of rocks : the nest consists of dried seaweeds ; in the Fern Islands, according to Mr. Selby, the nests so composed are frequently two feet in height. The eggs are from three to five in number, of a bluish white. The young, when first hatched, are naked, the skin being of a purplish black ; in six or seven days they become covered with black down, but the leathered plumage is not perfected till a lapse of six weeks. Yet when only half-fledged, if thrown into the water they imme- diately dive and pursue their submarine course to a great distance, using their imperfect wings in the same manner, and with almost as much effect, as the old birds. In winter, flocks of cormorants often wander inland, and may be seen on lakes and rivers at a consider- I able distance from the sea. | When the old birds are surprised pn the nest, they have a strange habit of stretching out the neck, raising up the head, opening the bill, and vi- | brating the loose skin of the throat, while at the i same time they utter a cry expressive of alarm and anger. Ravenous as the cormorant is, it is easily tamed, | and becomes very attached and familiar. One of these birds, which was caught by accident, was kept by Colonel Montagu, and soon became perfectly do- mesticated ; it would join him at the fireside, and dress its feathers with perfect self-possession. It lived in perlect harmony with swans, geese, ducks, and other birds, and was only excited by the sight of a fish. It never attempted to stray, and would walk in and out of the house regardless even of the dog, and was, as the colonel says, " Troublesomely tame." This character Mr. Selby states that he can confirm, having himself kept these birds in a domes- ticated state. As a further proof of the docile nature of this bird, we may mention that both in our country and in Holland it was trained to fish ; Wiilughby, quot- ing Faber, says : " They are wont in England to train cormorants to fishing: when they carry them out of the room where they are kept to the fish-pools, they hoodwink them, that they be not frightened by the way ; when they come to the rivers they lake oft' the hoods, and having tied a leather thong round the lower part of their necks that they may not swallow down the fish they catch, throw them into the river. They presently dive under water, and there for a long time with wonderful swiftness pursue the fish, and when they have caught them they arise pre- sently to the top of the water, and pressing the fish lightly with their bills they swallow them, till each bird hath after this manner devoured five or six fishes. Then their keepers call them to the fist, to which they readily fly, and little by little disgorge all their fish, a little bruised with the nip they gave them with their bills. When they have done fish- ing, setting the birds on some high place, they loose the string from their necks, leaving the pas- sage to the stomach free and open, and for their re- ward they throw them part of the prey they have caught to each, perchance, one or two fishes, which they by the way, as they are falling in the air, will catch most dexterously in their mouths." Swammer- dam states the circumstance of trained cormorants being brought from Holland to England for sale. Latham observes that "Whitelock says he had a cast of them manned like hawks, and which would come to hand ; and relates, that the best he had were presented to him by Mr. Wood, master of the cormorants to King Charles the First." In China at the present day an allied species, the Ph. sinensis, is bred and trained to fishing, it would appear, even without a ligature round the neck ; as is narrated by Sir George Staunton, who observed them on the southern branch of the canal in his journey to Ilan- choo-foo : he says, " On a large lake close to this part of the canal, and to the eastward of it, are thousands of small boats and rafts, built entirely for this spe- cies of fishery. On each boat or raft are ten or a dozen birds, which at a signal from the owner, plunge into the water; and it is astonishing to see the enormous size of the fish with which they return grasped between their bills." Le Compte, an old I French writer, states that the Chinese do put a string round the birds' neck, contrary to what Sir G. 1 Staunton affirms ; and it is not improbable that ' both may be correct. Fig. 2072 well illustrates the Chinese mode of employing the birds in question. The adult cormorant is a handsome bird. Top 1 of the head, neck, breast, lower part of the back, and ! under surface of a glossy greenish black ; a white I band stretches across the throat, and white silky hair-like feathers are scattered over the upper part j of the neck; top of the back and wings fine bronze I brown, each feather having a marginal belt of rich velvet black ; quill and tail feathers black ; bill dusky ; skin of the throat yellow ; iris bright green ; a whi'te patch upon the thighs ; legs dusky black. A semi-erect crest on the back of the head. Length j about three feet ; extent of wings nearly four feet. j 2073, 2074. — The Crested Cormorant (^Phalacrocorax crlstatvs). Cormoran Largup of , Temminck : Shag or Green Cormorant of Gould, ! Selby, and others. \ The crested cormorant, or shag, is widely spread j over the north of Europe, but is not an American : species. It is common on various parts of our coast, I breeding in the clifis and on the ledges of perpen- j dicular cliffs (not like the preceding, on the top), and making a nest of seaweeds. Its habits, man- ! ners, and food are precisely the same as those of the cormorant, and require no separate detailed account. The crest of this species, which consists of an oc- cipital tutY of long green feathers, is lost after the breeding season. (Fig. 2074.) The upper part of the back and shoulders of a deep bronzed green, each feather being margined with velvet black ; head, neck, and under suri'ace lustrous silky blackish green ; tail oi twelve black feathers ; bill and legs black ; guttural skin, and corners of the mouth gamboge-yellow, the former with black specks; iris green. Length two feet one or two inches. The foreign species of the genus Phalacrocorax are very numerous, and generally distributed through- out the ditt'erent quarters of the globe; Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia having their respective examples. 2075. — Le Vaillant's Darter, or Snake-Bird (Plotus Levailhntii). The darters, or anhingas, as Button and the French naturalists term them, are most extraordinary birds, remarkable for the length and slenderness of the neck, which bears no distant resemblance to the slim form of a snake, attached to the body of a cormorant ; the beak is long, straight, pointed, and obliquely dentilated along the edges: the face and throat are naked, the wings rather short : the tail ample and composed of rigid feathers. The darters perch upon trees along the margin of rivers, lakes, and creeks : they swim with the body completely submerged, the long neck alone rising out of the water. When thus seen, they might be mistaken at a casual glance for snakes, and Le Vaillant says that when the birds are perching the neck, 'is in a slate of constant oscilla- tion, and that any one who saw its tortuous move- ments amidst the foliage of the trees, the body being concealed, would take it for one of the tree-ser- pents. During flight the neck is stretched out in a line with the body. The species are limited ; one is found in the Old World, — one in the New. Le Vaillant's darter is a native of Senegal, the Cape of Good Hope, some parts of India, and of the Islands of Java and Sumatra. It feeds on fish, which it pursues, like the cormorant, under water, using its tail as a rudder in its subaquatic evolu- tions. Small fish are swallowed whole, but larger prey is carried to the trunk of a tree or rock, where the bird, fixing it securely beneath its feet, picks it to pieces. Though the water is the favourite element of the darter, according to Le Vaillant, it is upon trees and rocks that it establishes its nest and rears its young ; always choosing situations favourable to the escape of the brood, when fledged, or when alarmed, into the water. This species is extremely shy and wary, and difficult of approach ; so instantaneous are its actions in the water, that it dives before the shot reaches it, upon the drawing of the trigger, and often doubles back, emerging far behind the sports- man, and, taking wing, sails away to a distance. In full plumage all the upper part of the head and back of the neck are brick red, bordered with a riband of black which descends to the shoulders ; forehead, cheeks and sides of neck white ; throat and anterior part of neck, ochre-yellow ; chest and under parts black, with green reflexions ; base of the neck, reddish, with spots of white ; upper surface brown, the middle of each feather of a bright rust colour; quills and tail brown; beak and feet yellow. 2076, 2077.— The American Darter (Plulus Anhinya). The American Darter, or Snake- bird, is a native of the Carolinas, Georgia, the Flo- ridas, and Louisiana; it is common in Brazil and Cayenne. Like the African species it swims with the body submerged, and its long neck vibrating in - a pecular manner. "The first individual," says Mr. % Ord, " that I saw in Florida was sneaking away to " avoid me along the shore of a reedy mai-sh, which was lined with alligators ; and the first impression on my mind was that I beheld a snake, but the recol- lection of the habits of the bird soon undeceived me. To pursue these birds at such times is useless, as they cannot be induced to rise or even expose their bodies." " Wherever," adds the same natu- ralist, " the limbs of a tree project over and dip into the waters, there the darters are sure to be found, these situations being convenient resting-places for the purpose of sunning and preening themselves, and probably giving them a better opportunity of ob- | serving their finny prey. They crawl from the water upon the limbs, and fix themselves in an upright position, which they maintain in the utmost silence. If there be foliage or long moss, they secrete them- selves in it in such a manner that they cannot be perceived unless one be close to them. When ap- proached, they drop into the water with such sur- prising skill that one is astonished how so large a body can plunge with so little noise, the agitation of tire water being apparently not greater than that occasioned by the gliding of an eel." Bartram, who states that he has seen paintings of the darter on Chinese screens, and other Indian pictures, was not, we suppose, aware of the distinc- tion between the American and Old World species Darters.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 71 which, till Temminck extricated them from a laby- rinth of error, were confounded together under the title of Plotus nielanogaster. According tu Bavtram these birds "delight to sit in little peaceable com- munities on the dry limbs of trees, hanging over the still waters, with their wings and tails expanded, to cool and air themselves, when at the same time they behold their images in the watery mirror. At such times, when approached, they drop off the limbs into the water as if dead, and for a minute or two are not to be seen, when on a sudden, at a great distance, their long slender head and neck appear, like a snake rising erect out of the water. In the heat of the day they are seen in great numbers sailing very high in the air over lakes and rivers." These birds build in the trees of swamps and islands in the midst of lakes or sheets of water, and occupy the same station lor a series of years ; the nest is large, and made of sticks, and the eggs are blue. The plumage undergoes several changes before the perfect livery is attained. In full plumage the general colour is glossy greenish black : the scapular feathers are long and slender, ornamented with a streak of white down the centre of each, forming a sort of plume over the back and wings ; side of the neck from the eye backwards marked throughout half its length with a stripe of brownish white, con- sisting of long hair-like feathers ; a few tuffs on the crown ; wings black, beautifully variegated with silvery white ; bill black above, yellow below ; naked skin of face and throat yellow : legs yellow ; middle claw pectinated ; plumage stiff and elastic. In the female and young the front of the neck is of a rusty grey colour, which extends over the breast. Length about two feet eight or ten inches, but the body does not much exceed in size that of a large duck. Fig. 2076 represents the Male, Fig. 2077 the Female. 2078. — The Frigate, or Man-of-War Bird {Tachypetes Aquihis). The genus Tachypetes is characterized by a strong elongated beak, depressed in the centre, and abruptly hooked at the end ; the nostrils are mere slits in a suture running along each side of the upper mandible ; the tarsi are extremely short ; the webs of the toes deeply notched ; the wings extremely long and narrow ; the tail is forked ; an extensive naked gular pouch : one spe- cies only is ascertained. Noted for its raptorial habits, the frigate bird soars on rapid pinions over the broad expanse of ocean principally in intertropical latitudes, and tyrannizes over the gulls and boobies, from whom it forces the prey they have captured. At immeasur- able distances from shore it pursues its habits of rapine, but is never known to repose on the water ; rapid as an arrow it plunges from its altitude upon the shoals of ilying-fish, which rise glittering above the surface, or upon some unfortunate sea-bird which has made a capture, and which it harasses till it obtains the booty. No bird is more at home in air, or sweeps along on more rapid pinions. Supported, says Mr. Vigors, " in its unlimited flights by the strength and expansion of its wings, and aided by the singular mechanism of its tail, and the buoyant nature of the inflated sac which distends its throat, it seems to be an inhabitant of the air rather than of the land, to which it resorts alone for the duties of its nest, or of the water, over which it only hovers for its prey." It may here be added that the long wing-bones are hollow, thin, and light, and that the air-cells of the whole body are extremely developed, while, in proportion to the expanse of winsrs, the total weight of the bird is very trifling ; hence can it repose in the upper regions of air, suspended without effort. Sloane, who saw these and tropic birds when he came into latitute 13" Vy, says, "The man-of-war bird seems very large, bigger than a kite, and black ; they fly like kites, very high, and often appear im- moveable over the water, to wait for and catch small fish appearing on the surface : they are sharp winged, and their tail is forked. When flying-fishes are persecuted under water by dolphins, bonitos, &c., they rise and fly for some space in the air, and are often devoured by these birds in that time. We saw them first when we came near Barbadoes. The sailors guess themselves not many days, or about two hundred leagues, off the islands when they spy them first ; and it is wondered how they can direct their course to the land at nights, being so far distant ; but it seems no very strange matter, because they are very high in the air, and can see land much farther than those on the deck or topmast of a ship. The reason of their flying so high may be to have a greater field before them for prey, because they may go where they see the dolphins follow or hunt tlie flying-fishes. They are commonly thought in the West Indies to foretel the coming in of ships, for when they see a man-of-war bird come into their ports, they reckon ships will soon follow ; and it is very often true, for they love to fish in not very rough weather, so that when it blows hard at sea, they come into the ports and bays to fish, where the wind is broken off by the land, and the same wind blowing them in brings in the shipping after them. There are more of these in the firm land of America than in the isles. One of these birds at Panama coming to lake sardinas that were a-curing in the sun, a negro broke his wing with a stick he had in his hand : the body, after it was clear of its feathers, was little bigger than a pigeon. Tlie wings being extended, no man, though several tried, could reach, with his arms stretched out, within four inches of the tip of them." The fat was considered by the Indians and others a sovereign remedy in some diseases, such as sciatica, &c. These birds are said to build their nest on preci- pitous rocks near the sea. The eggs are stated to be of a carnation tinge dotted with crimson, and one or two in number. The length of the male, in- cluding the tail, is three i'eet ; expanse of wing eight feet ; gular air-pouch red ; general plumage blackish umber-brown. In the female the pouch is less and the plumage of a duller hue. 2079.— Quadrupeds, Birds, &c., in Outlise, from Egyptian Antiquities. At the conclusion of our sketch of the Birds contained in our Pictorial Museum, we take the opportunity of referring to these sculptured forms, which are inter- esting to the naturalist as enabling him to compare the present animal productions of Egypt with those of ages past, and which prove that the revolutions of time, the changes of empires, and the alterations of the land, have but slightly aft'ected the produc- tions of the land of the Pharaohs. Among the quadrupeds we recognise a large baboon, the Egyptian hare, the lion, the sheep, the dog (greyhound), the lioness, the bull, and ap- parently a niouflon. Of birds we have a species of lapwing, goose, vulture, ibis, hawk, owl, swallow, the demoiselle or Numidian crane, the stork flying, the duck, and the Percnopterus, or Pharaoh chicken. Page 72 contains a few additions to the birds of our Museum, some of which will require our particular notice. 2080.— The Whip-poor-Will {Caprimiilgu.1 vocifervs, Linn.). Antrostomus vo- ciferus, Gould. This species of night-jar, so well known in North America for the peculiarity of its cry, is described in vol. i. p. 287. 2081.— Chuck-Will's Widow {Capriinulgus CaroUnensis) . Antrostomus Caroli- nensis, Gould. This night-jar is also described in vol. i. p. 287. 2082. — The Song-Thrush and Fieldfare (Tardus musicus and 2'. pilaris). For the descrip- tion of these well-known birds refer to vol. i. pp. 322, 323. In our illustration, a represents the Song- Thrush ; b, the Fieldfare. 2083. — The Glossy-headed Shortfoot Micropus clialcocephalus, Swainson). Ixos chal- cocephalus, Temm. This species forms one of the family of the Meru- lidaB (vol. i. p. 322), and is a native of .Java, inha- biting the woody district of Bantam, but of its habits we have no details. In the male the whole of the head is metallic black with violet reflexions ; the upper parts of the body are of a leaden grey ; quill* black : tail grey ; with a band of black and a white termination ; breast deep (rrey, becoming brighter on the under parts. The female is more obscurely coloured. Length six inches and a half. 2084.— Bunting (Emberiza), Head of. In this head the peculiar character of the beak of the genus is well displayed, and the tubercle on the palate of the upper man- ; dible is very conspicuous. (See Common Bunting, vol. i. p. 331.) 2085.— The Ykllow-Hammeb, or Yellow I Bunting (Emberiza cilrinella). Male. This elegantly- I coloured but well-known British bird, so con- spicuous in our hedgerows and copses, is described ■ in vol. i. p. 331. 2086. — The Wahty-faced Honet-bateb (Zanthomyza Phrygia. Gould). This beautiful bird, termed the Mock Regent Bird by the colo- nists of New South Wales, is one of the most lively- coloured of the Honey-Eaters. (See Meliphagidae, vol. i. p. 379.) Its plumage is rich yellow and deep black, most agreeably varied. According to Mr. Gould, " it is a stationary species, and enjoys a range extending from South Australia to New South Wales." " Although it is very generally distributed. its presence appears to be dependent on the state of the eucalypti, upon whose blossoms it mainly de- pends for subsistence ; it is consequently only to be found in any particular locality during the season that those trees are in full bloom. It generally resorts to the loftiest and most fully-flowered tree, where it reigns supreme, buffeting and driving every other bird away from its immediate neighbourhood ; it is, in fact, the most pugnacious bird I ever saw, evincing particular hostiUfy to the smaller Meli- phagidae, and even to others of its own species that may venture to approach the trees upon which two or three have taken their station." " I met with it in great abundance among the bushes ot New South Wales, and also found it breeding in the low apple-tree flats of the Upper Hunter. I have occa- sionally seen flocks of from fifty to one hundred in number, passing from tree to tree, as if engaged in a partial migration from one part of the country to another, probably in search of a mOre abundant supply of food. Its note is a peculiar loud whistle, not entirely devoid of melody. The nest, which is usually constructed on the overhanging branch of a eucalyptus, is round, cup-shaped, about five inches in diameter, composed of fine grasses, lined with a little wool and hair. The eggs are two in number, of a deep yellowish buff, marked all over with indis- tinct spots and irregular blotches of chestnut red, and dull purplish grey, particularly at the larger end, where they frequently form a zone." (Gould, ' Birds of Australia.') In size this species equals the common thrush. 2087 (u).— The Kori Bustard (Otis Kori). This noble species of bustard, from the interior of South Africa, is described in the present volume, at page 15. 2087 (i).— The Houbara (Olis Honbara). This elegant bustard is a native of Barbary, Arabia, Persia, and occasionally occurs in south-eastern Europe. It is taken in Persia by means of trained hawks, as noticed in vol. i. p. 27. The wide desert plains are the abode of this species, which in habits and manners resembles the rest of its family. The sides of the neck and chest in the adult male are graced by a range of long plumes, the foremost and upper portion of which is white ; the remainder black. The front of the neck is white minutely mottled with grey. The head is surmounted by a beautiful crest of white plumes. The upper surface is tawny yellow, with zigzag bars of black ; under parts white. The young male wants both the crest and ruffles down each side of the neck ; and it is probable that after the breeding season the adult male loses these ornamental appendages. END OF THE CLASS AVES, OR BIRDS. \KnA, tMl^Cbuck-WiUWidaw. 10«« — Head of Bunting. 20M.— Yellow DunUng. t08(<— Wuty-luad Boney-nten and Not. 2087.— Kori Bustud, and Houbara. 208!.— Fieldbre and Song Thniah. 72 2080.— Wbip-poor-Will. 2083.— Qlossjr-head-Stemain of River Tortoise, 2044.— Sternain of Loggerliead Tmtle. 2'j89.— Skeleton of Lajgethead Tutte. 2090.— Canpaee of Rivet Tortol«e. 2091.— Carapace of Bordered TottoiMt 2092. — Carapace of Loggeriiead Turtle. 2083.— Skeleton of Marsh Tortoise. 209&.— Stfiinum of Marsh Tortoise. 2094.— Cbluyphoriu. j 2097.— Grecian Lyre. — From Mersenne. No. 60. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OP ANIJIATED NATURE.] 73 74 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Tortoises. CLASS REPTILIA (REPTILES). We now advance to another department of our Pictorial Museum, and enter upon our collection of Reptiles— a sincular class of beines, ])resenting the most wonderful variety of form and structure, and consequently adapted for different habits of life, different localities, and ditferent modes of loco- motion. We may take by way of examples the Tortoise, the Lizard, the Snake, and the Frog : the contrast is startlini;, and we are ready to >ay— Can these forms be comprehended together under one natural (treat group or class, or are they not examples of distinct classes? We may observe, that many naturalists, and among them Mr. Bell, Mr. Gray, and othere. regard the Frogs, Newts. Protei, &c., as a distinct class, under the iitle Amphibia ; while, on the other hand, Brongniart, Cuvier, Oppel, and others, place the Amphibia as an order or section (vithin the pale of the Reptilia. Moreover, between the long, twining snakes, and the solid heavy, shiekl- "Covered tortoises, the distance is very great ; much greater than between any forms of the two previous classes, viz., Mammalia and Birds; much greater than between the elephant and mouse, the eagle and humming-bird; almost, indeed, as much as between the bird and quadruped, excepting that the oviparous mode of reproduction obtains both in the tortoise and snake, which, be it observed, is also the case with birds — a pomt in which they exhibit a certain degree of approximation to the Reptilia. Without entering into an analysis of the various modes of arrangement which different naturalists have instituted, all of which have their objections, let us proceed to a general review of the common characteristics of these animals, dividing them into Tortoises (Chelonia), Lizards (Sauria), Serpents (Ophidia), and Frogs (Amphibia). All are verte- brate, with cold red blood, of a variable temperature ; <)reathing by means of lungs, sometimes by bran- chial tufts or gills : the skin is covered neither with hair nor feathers, but with solid shields, horny plates, scales, spines, or granules : otherwise, as in the Amphibia, it is naked. The heart consists essentially of two auricles and a ventricle. There is either no external organ of hearing, or merely an orifice, open in some, in othere covered with a tympanic membrane, in a few protected by a move- able valve. The limbs are variable ; four, two, or none. The appetite is in general carnivorous ; some- times, however, frugivorous. Of some the bite is deadly. A high temperature is most congenial 1o their nature, and it is in the hotter regions of the globe that they abound in the greatest numbers, both specifically and individually, and display the most varied forms, the most gigantic bulk, and the most dazzling colours. As our preliminary observ- ations must be very brief, we shall at once pass to our first order (perhaps subclass), hoping that as we advance we shall gradually develop the cha- racters of each in rotation. ORDER CHELONIA (TORTOISES) (xi'^'" 3. tortoise). These strange animals, as is well known, are covered with natural armour, which may be considered essentially a portion of the osseous framework, thrown, as it were, outside of the body, so as to constitute an external bony en- velope or box, enclosing and protecting the internal muscles and viscera, and covered on the outer surface by plates of horny matter, scales, or a leathery ex- pailsion. The box thus formed is composed of two portions : an upper portion, called the buckler, back-plate, or carapace (clypeus), composed of the vertebrae of the back and loins, and also of the ribs, all ex- panded and consolidated together ; a lower portion, called the plastron, or breastplate (sternum), con- sisting of nine osseous portions, eight in pairs, the ninth single, and occupying the anterior part of the plastron. The distinct bones forming the plastron vary much, in different groups, in their consolida- tion and degree of development ; it is in the land tortoises that the solidity of this portion is at its maximum. The same remark holds good with respect to the carapace, which presents different degrees of form, expansion, convexity, and of ex- ternal covering in the several subordinate groups and genera. The upper and under shields are in general united at the sides, leaving before and behind a space for the protrusion of the head, limbs, and tail ; and these in general can be more or less completely retracted under cover, and sometimes completely shut up, either by the carapace or plastron being transversely hinged. The union of the carapace and plastron at the sides, is by means of what are termed costo-stemal bones, analogous perhaps to the sternal ribs of the Sauria. Where the carapace is covered with plates or scales, they are divided into vertebral, costal, and marginal : the vertebral plates mnning longitudinally down the centre, and five in number: the costal plates are usually four, sometimes five, on each side ; these are surrounded by the marginal plates con- sisting of a nuchal plate, of a caudal plate, some- times single, sometimes double, and of a variable intermediate number. The plates of the plastron and of the bones of union are variable. In the marsh-tortoise those of the former are six on each side, those of the latter two. In the loggerhead- turtle they are more numerous and differently ar- ranged. We shall give a better idea of the structure of the carapace and plastron of these animals, and of their connection with the skeleton, by referring to our figures, than by any explanation. Fig. 2088 represents the Skeleton and Curapace of the Com- mon Marsh Tortoise (Cistudo Europeea), seen from below. Fig. 2089 represents the Skeleton and imperfect Carapace of the Loggerhead Turtle (Chelone Caou- ana), seen from below. Fig. 2090, the Carapace of the River Tortoise (Trionyx, Geoffr. ; Gymnopus, Bibron), as seen from below. In this group the osseous part of the cara- pace is very much reduced, and flat, with an ex- tensive cartilaginous circumference, the upper surface being covered with a coriaceous membrane. Fig. 2091 is the Carapace of the common Bordered Tortoise (Testudo marginaia), covered with its horny shell. Fig. 2092 is the Carapace of the Loggerhead Turtle (upper surface), covered with its horny plates disposed in imbrications. Fig. 2093 represents the imperfectly developed Sternum of the River Tortoise (Trionyx). Fig. 2094 is the still more imperfect Sternum of the Loggerhead Turtle. Fig. 2095 is the complete Sternum of the Marsh Tortoise (Cistudo Europasa). The contrast between this and the two preceding is remaikable, yet in each the essential components are the same. It may appear at first sight that there is a great affinity between the armour, or rather box, in which the tortoise is enclosed, and the coat of mail with which many quadrupeds are covered, as for instance the Armadilloes and the Chlarayphorus (See Chla- myphorus, Fig. 2096). There is this important diffe- rence ; — the coat of mail in these quadrupeds (Mam- malia) is a simple horny addition to the skin itself, resting upon and supported indeed by bold pro- cesses of the skeleton ; whereas the osseous carapace and plastron of the tortoise, however developed, are part and parcel of the skeleton itself, which, as we have said, is so modified as to protect the internal organs, enclosing them as in a casket, which is itself covered either with horny plates variously arranged, or with a tough leathery skin, often thickened and carried out beyond the circumference of the osseous portions. Of the carapace of the tortoise Mercury is fabled to have formed the ancient Grecian lyre, of which one wilh only three strings, as given by Mersenne, is represented at Fig. 2097. The lungs of the tortoise are very extensive, and lie under the vaulted carapace, but it must be evident that they cannot, from the immobility of the carapace and sternum, be filled with air by any action resembling that of quadrupeds or birds in breathing, and in which the chest is alternately ex- panded and contracted. The tortoise swallows or gulps down air; the jaws being firmly closed, the cavity of the mouth is enlarged by the drawing down of the root of the tongue, and into the vacuum thus formed the air rushes in through the nostrils. The free part of the tongue is now applied to the posterior orifices of the nostrils so as to stop them, the gullet is also closed, the root of the tongue is elevated, the broad muscles of the throat contract, and the air is forced down the windpipe into the lungs, which become filled by a repetition of the process. The air is returned by the simple pressure of muscles within the plastron and carapace. It is in this manner that reptiles without ribs, as the frog and toad, perform the act of breathing. The jaws of tortoises are not armed with teeth, but cased in sharp-edged or serrated horny coverings, enabling them to crop and mince the vegetable ali- ment on which they feed. In some species of car- nivorous appetite, as the Trionyx, there are thick fleshy lips aiound this beak, and in one species, the Matamata, the horny sheath is so rudimentary, that many naturalists have overlooked it. The tongue of the tortoise is thick, fleshy, and very movable, though not capable of protrusion ; it is abundantly supplied with nerves, and covered with nervous papillee. It is provided with salivary glands, and doubtless enjoys to a high degree the sense of taste. With respect to smel), from the simplicity of the olfactory organs, it appears to be but imperfect, though sufficient for the necessities of the animal. Though the organs of hearing are not apparent externally, they exist internally, and in a tolerably perfect condition, yet tortoises appear by no means to have the sense of hearing acute ; indeed the gi- gantic tortoises on the Galapagos Islands are believed by the inhabitants to be perfectly deaf, and Mr. Darn in states that they certainly do not overhear a person walking close behind them. Tortoises have the eye well developed and large ; as in birds, it has an osseous ring, or circle of osseous plates, around the ball, and is defended by a mem- brana nictitans and two external eyelids; there are also lachrymal glands. The pupil is circular. In the terrestrial tortoises the skull is broad across the occiput, obtuse anteriorly, strong, and solid ; the orbits are nearly circular, and the depression for the reception of the vast temporal muscle is both deep and extensive ; the occipital ridge is elevated ; the cavity for the brain is contracted ; the articulating condyle is a prominent tubercule ; the horny covering of the upper jaw is strongly serrated, there being an inner as well as an outer ridge, and the inner ridge is received into a serrated channel of the horny ridge of the lower jaw, the outer ridge, which is deep, passing anteriorly, when the jaw is shut. This struc- ture, reminding us of an array of real teeth, renders the crushing and chopping up of vegetable aliment easily effected. Figs. 2098, 2099, 2100, and 2101 represent the Skull of the Indian Tortoise, in pro- file, as seen from above, as seen from below, and as seen from behind. In the marine tortoises, or turtles, the cerebral cavity may be said to have a double roof; for by a production of the bones of the upper part of the « head, a double vault is produced, within which, and above the true surface of the cranium, are lodged the temporal muscles of enormous volume, and to which this vaulted roof forms an osseous envelope. This structure gives to the skull an appearance of being larger than it is in reality, for the cerebral cavity is very small. In the Matamata (Chelys fimbriata) the same peculiarity prevails ; the skull of this tortoise, a fierce aquatic species, inhabiting the lakes, moras- ses, and rivers of South America, is very remarkable. It is extraordinarily large and flat, appearing as if it had been crushed ; the small orbits are seated close to the end of the muzzle ; the posterior region of the cranium is elevated, in consequence of the vaulted arrangement of the bones described. The cerebral cavity is very trifling. Figs. 2102, 2103, 2104, and 2105, show the Skull of the Matamata in different positions, viz. as seen from above, as seen from below, in profile, and in a back view. In the back view the vaulted structure is very distinguishable, but the covering is here narrow, leaving anteriorly two extensive, but not deep, uncovered fossae, as seen at Fig. 2102, over the back of which the bone stretches like a bridge. The articulating single condyle is very prominent, and just above it (Fig. 210.^) is the cerebral cavity. The limbs of tortoises differ remarkably, from an elephantine club-foot, with the strong claws only apparent, to feet divided and webbed, and so on to limbs formed into large undivided paddles, by means of which the species wing their way in the rolling ocean, as birds through the regions of air. The motions of ordinary tortoises on land are proverbially slow : they hobble along, with an awk- ward irregular gait, on their ill-shaped club-feet, and seem with all their toil to make but little way ; they do not put the sole fairly to the ground, but rest upon the edge, which is furnished with horny la- minae, tubercles, or hoof-like nails. Ill-provided as they may appear to be for the work of burrowing, yet they excavate pits with unexpected facility, and by dint of labour contrive to bury them- selves in the soft ground, scraping up the earth with the fore-feet, and throwing it behind with the poste- rior pair. Hybernation appears to be general among the terrestrial species. Tortoises eat slowly and deliberately, and we have seen them, when at work on their vegetable food, place their fore-limbs upon it, so as to press it to the ground, when, having seized a portion between the jaws, they separate it by drawing the head rapidly backwards. These animals, as is well known, endure long fast- ing with impunity, and are extremely tenacious of life, surviving for days, or even weeks, the severest wounds and mutilations. We shall not enter into TOKTOISES.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 7.1 any details of experiments. With this tenacity of life is connected a low degree of sensation, but a high degree of irritability, the characteristics of a low grade of existence. In a natural state they live through a long succession of years. In the Bishop's garden at Peterborough, a tortoise died in 1821, which must have exceeded two hundred and twenty years. The Lambeth tortoise, which was intro- duced into the garden by Archbishop Laud, about the year 1625, and which died in 1753, in con- sequence of some neglect on the part of the gardener, lived in its last situation one hundred and twenty-eight years. Gilbert White notices one in a village in his neighbourhood, said by tradition to be one hundred years old, and records some interesting details of one which had been thirty years a captive. In the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for July, 1833, will be found the notice of one of the gigantic tortoises in the gardens, and which had been recently presented by Lieutenant Sir Charles Colville, late governor of the Mauritius. It was " one of those which were brought from the Seychelles Islands to the Mauritius or Isle of France, in 1766, by the Chevalier Marion du Fresne, and is beheved to have since remained unchanged in size and appearance ; consequently in 1833 it had been sixty-seven years in the island, having been full- grown, or at least as large as it was in 1833, and hence what its real age might be it was impossible to conjecture. Its length, measured along the curve of the back, was four feet four inches ; its breadth, taken in the same manner, four feet nine inches ; the length of the plastron two feet eight inches ; the breadth of the same two feet one inch and a half; its weight two hundred and eighty-five pounds. The Chelonia, or tortoises, are divided by MM. Dumeril and Bibron into — I. Terrestrial or Land Tortoises. II. Marsh Tortoises, or Emydes. III. Fluviatile or River Tortoises. IV. Marine Tortoises, or Turtles. Terrestrial tortoises have the body short and oval, with the carapace greatly arched, within which they can withdraw the head, limbs, and tail for protection. In the genus Pyxis the an- terior part of the plastron is movable on a trans- verse hinge, and shuts up the head and fore limbs : in the genus Cinixys the posterior part of the cara- pace moves on a hinge. Slow, quiet, and inoffen- sive, these animals seldom wander far from their ha- bitual haunts, and trust only to their passive means of defence when molested ; yet so strong is their natural intrenchment, and so enduringly can they remain cooped within, that, man excepted, there are few ordinary animals which they have much cause to fear ; the eagle, hawk, or crow may indeed manage in one way or another to kill small species ; they may soar up with their victim and let it fall from a vast elevation, or the crow may pick away at the head, withdrawn within the shell, and bit by bit tear out its prey, but a large species of two hun- dredweight may bid deiiance to any land animal. It is rarely, if ever, that terrestrial tortoises enter the water ; they are often, however, found to live along its margin, or in the neighbourhood of streams and lakes, influenced doubtless by the abundance of ve- getation, and the soft quality of the soil, since they not only dig a shallow pit in which to hybernate (at least in extra tropical countries), but bury their eggs, lightly covering them with earth, and leaving them to be brought to maturity by the warmth of the sun. The eggs of terrestrial tortoises are generally round ; some, however, are elongated, but are never of the oval shape of those of a fowl. They are covered with a calcareous shell of considerable firm- ness. The plates of horn with which the bony carapace is covered, are often beautifully stained and marbled, or spotted, and adorned with alternate concentric lines and furrows, disposed in regular figures. The young, however, after exclusion from the egg, differ materially in form and colouring from the adults, and the carapace is smooth. In these animals the female is generally more thickly built than the male, and has the plastron flat, while in the male it is more or less concave. 210C. — The Fubbowed Tortoise {Testudo sulcata). In the genus Testudo the nails on the anterior feet are five ; carapace and plastron immovable. The furrowed Tortoise attains to a large size, and is a native of Africa ; but if the specimen brought by M. d'Orbigny from Patagonia prove to be identical, it must also be enumerated among the productions of South America : the specimen in question was young. The circumstance of Africa and South America being alike tenanted by this tortoise, as M. Bibron observes, is most extraordi- nary, for the entire class of reptiles presents us with no other instance : and he adds, " We avow indeed that to believe it, there is need that it should be at- tested by a person so trustworthy as M. d'Orbigny, who himself procured, in Patagonia, where, as he Vol. II. says it is very common, the young specimen above alluded to. Our other examples (in the Paris Mu- seum) undoubtedly came from Africa ; two were part of the rich zoological collection made at the Cape of Good Hope by the late M. Lalande ; a third was sent to the museum from Senegal, by a person at- tached to the administration of that colony. We know besides that M. Riippell also found this species in Abyssinia, from which region are the two indi- viduals deposited in the museum at Frankfort. In this species the carapace is deeply furrowed, and dentilated both before and behind. The general colour is pale yellow, deeper on the head and limbs and round the margin of the carapace. In some in- dividuals the carapace is of a deep brown. 2107, 2108.— The Arachnoid Pyxis (Pixis Arachnoides, Bell). In this genus the cara- pace is oval, very convex, and deeply notched an- teriorly ; the anterior part of the sternum is mov- able on a tranverse hinge, shutting in the head and limbs when withdrawn. This species, the only known example of the genus, inhabits India and the Indian islands ; of its habits nothing is known. It is of moderate size, and beautifully marked. Head, neck, and tail brown ; the limbs yellowish, with a black band ; the ground- colour of the carapace reddish yellow ; the plates of the disc have each eight or ten black triangular marks disposed in a radiating manner ; on the mar- ginal plates there are longitudinal marks of black, which sometimes are extended over the adjacent plates. The plastron is reddish yellow, with black marks along its lateral margin. Fig. 2107 represents the upper. Fig. 2108 the under surface of tliis species. We may here observe, that, according to M. Bibron, there are twenty-seven species of terrestrial tortoise, of which six are Asiatic, three South Euro- pean, nine African, and nine American. Of these one of the most remarkable is that described by Mr. Darwin, as inhabiting the Galapagos, under the title of Testudo Indica, a name given to more than one giant species. These tortoises are alluded to, so far back as 1708, by Woods, Rogers, and Courtney, in their voyage round the world (Kerr's ' Voyages,' vol. X., p. 373) ; who say, it is the opinion of the Spaniards that there are no others in these seas, ex- cept at the Galapagos. This species, probably the Testudo nigra of Quoy and Gaimard, he describes as being very abundant on those remote islands, as they were in Dampier's time, whose statement he quotes, that " they are so numerous, that five or six hundred men might subsist on them for several months without any other sort of provisions ;" adding, "they are so extraordinarily large and fat, and so sweet, that no pullets eat more pleasantly." The day on which Mr. Darwin visited the little craters in the Galapagos Archipelago was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the rough surface, and through the intricate thickets, was very fatiguing. "But," says Mr. Darwin, "I was well repaid by the Cyclopean scene. In my walk I met two large tortoises, each of which must have weighed at least two hundred pounds. One was eating a piece of cactus, and when I approached, it looked at me and then quietly walked away ; the other gave a deep hiss and drew in his head. These huge reptiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and large cacti, appeared to my fancy like some antediluvian animals." Mr. Darwin states his belief that these tortoises are found in all the islands of the archipelago ; certainly in the greater number ; and thus continues his description : — " They frequent, in preference, the high damp parts, but likewise inhabit the lower and arid districts. Some individuals grow to an immense size. Mr. Lawson, an Englishman, who had, at the time of our visit, charge of the colony, told us that he had seen several so large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground, and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of meat. The old males are the largest, the females rarely growing to so great a size. The male can readily be distinguished from the female by the greater length of its tail. The tortoises which live on those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid parts of the others, chiefly feed on the succulent cactus. Those which frequent the higher and damp regions eat the leaves of various trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and austere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen, that hangs in tresses from the boughs of the trees. " The tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a considerable elevation. The tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long distance. Hence, broad and well-beaten paths radiate off in every direction from the wells even down to the sea-coast ; and the Spaniards, by following them up, first dis- covered the watering-places. When I landed at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal travelled so methodically along the well-chosen tracks. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these great monsters ; one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set returning, after having drunk their fill. When the tortoise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, it buries its head in the water above its eyes and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabitants say that each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of the water, and then returns to the lower country ; but they differed in their accounts respecting the frequency of these visits. The animal probably regulates them ac cording to the nature of the food which it has consumed. It is, however, certain that tortoises can subsist even on those islands where there is no other water than what falls during a "few lainy days, in the year. " I believe it is well ascertained that the bladder of the frog acts as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence : such seems to be the case with the tortoise. For some time after a visit to the springs, the bladder of these animals is distended with fluid, which is said gradually to decrease in volume and to become less pure. The inhabitants, when walking in the lower district, and overcome with thirst, often take advantage of this circum- stance, by killing a tortoise, and if the bladder is full, drinking its contents. In one I saw killed, the fluid was quite limpid, and had only a very sligluly bitter taste. The inhabitants, however, always drink first the water in the pericardium, which is described as being best. The tortoises, when moving towards any definite point, travel by night and by day, and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be expected. The inhabitants, from observation on marked individuals, consider that they can move a distance of about eight miles in two or three days. One large tortoise which I watched, I found walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is, three hundred and sixty in the hour, or four miles a day — allowing also a little time for it to eat on the road. During the breeding season, when the male and female aie together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, can be heard at the distance of more than a hundred yards. The female never uses her voice, and the male only at such times ; so that when the people hear this noise, they know the two are together. They were at this time (October) laying their eggs. The female, where the soil is sand, deposits them together, and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is rocky, she drops them indiscriminately in any hollow. Mr. Bynoe found seven placed in a line in a fissure. The egg is white and spherical ; one which I measured was seven inches and three- eighths in circumference. The young animals, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the buzzard with the habits of the caracara. The old ones seem generally to die from accidents, as from falling down precipices. At least several of the inhabitants told me they had never found one dead without some such apparent cause. The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them. I was always amused, when overtaking one of these great monsters as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. I frequently got on their backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder part of the shell, they would rise up and walk away ; but I found it very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this ani- mal is largely employed, both fresh and salted ; and a beautifidly clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated ; and it is said to recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the tortoises, it is not suflacient to turn them like turtle, for they are often able to regain their upright position. " It was confidently asserted that the tortoises coming from different islands in the archipelago were slightly different in form ; and that in certain islands they attained a larger average size than in others. Mr. Lawson maintained that he could at once tell from which island any one was brought. Unfortunately, the specimens which came home in the Beagle were too small to institute any certain comparison. This tortoise, which goes by the name of Testudo Indicus, is at present found in many parts of the worid. It is the opinion of Mr. Bell and some others who have studied reptiles, that it is not improbable that they all originally came from this archipelago. When it is known how long these islands have been frequented by the buccaneers, and L 2 X103.-SkuU of Mataauta, from (liow. SIOS.— Skull of Maumata, from belowt' •IM — FarlotradTorteUe. 2107.— Arachnoid PyxiSi fro™ above. lOM^SksU of ladian Tortoise, from tkmt. 2100.— Skull of Indian TortoiM, fitjm bddw. I.— Arachnoid rjxi>,&am below tl04,r-AnUo( Hatamata. 3098<— SliuU of Indian Tortoise. WOO.— AUigaWrTottoiK. / v/. aiO».— Skull of Matamata, back view. SllO.— Matamata. 8101.— Skull of Indian Tortoise ar.S.— Leathery Tuille. r.H.—lUvVfWa Tiittlo. 8116.— PlMtronof Leathery Turtle. 111.— New Holland Chelodina. 8112. — American River-Tonoiae. 77 78 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Tortoises. that they constantly took away numbers of these animals alive, it seems very probable that they should have distributed them in different parts of the world. If this tortoise does not originally come from these islands, it is a remarkable anomaly ; in- asmuch as nearly all the other land inhabitanU seem to have their birthplace here." We may now proceed to the Marsh Tortoises. The marsh tortoises form a very extensive family, and are respectively dispersed within certain laU- tudes, both through the Old and New World, occur- ring in Australia, where hitherto no terrestrial tor- toise has been detected. These animals tenant swamps, lakes, ponds, and small rivers, and swim ■with considerable facility; on land they are more active and alert than the species of the previous family, but they never venture far from the water, which they invariably seek as a refuge from danger. The toes, instead of being buried, are developed ex- ternally, and are movable, but are united to each other by means of intervening webs of greater or less extent. The marsh tortoises are more flattened in their figure than the land tortoises, and are of an oval outline, and with the carapace and plastron less completely solidified. In young animals, indeed, the spaces between the nbs and the component parts of the plastron are separated by a cartilagi- nous medium, which ossifies slowly. The horny plates covering the carapace are thin, and compa- ratively smooth. The neck is long, as is also in many instances the tail. In some genera, as Cistudo, the plastron is attached to the carapace by a carti- laginous union, and is, besides, divided into two movable portions by a transverse hinge, so that the head,'tail, and limbs, when retracted, may be completely shut up. The species so characterized are called box-tortoises. In some, on the contrary, as in Emysaurus, neither the plastron nor carapace is sufficiently developed to admit of the retraction and concealment of the head and limbs ; and in others, though the limbs may be concealed, the head remains constantly exposed. In their modes of life these marsh tortoises differ greatly from their terrestrial relatives ; they are car- nivorous in their habits, pursuing fishes, newts, frogs, and insects with eagerness. Some are formidable from their size and ferocity. Many, as the Painted Terrapin (Emys picta),are very beautifully marked. The females deposit their eggs in shallow excava- tions, which they make on the sunny banks of the waters they ordinarily inhabit; the young, when hatched, instinctively make for the stream or pool, but numbers fall a prey to birds, snakes, and small carnivorous mammalia. The number of species, according to M. Bibron, amounts to seventy-four; viz., three European, eighteen Asiatic, six African, twenty-three South American, twenty-two North American, two Aus- tralian. To the latter, other species may now be added. The marsh tortoises are divided by M. Bibron into two groups ; viz., Cryptodera, in which the long neck, sheathed in loose skin, is capable of being completely withdrawn under the centre of the an- terior margin of the carapace ; and Pieurodera, in which the neck is not properly retractile, so that the head can be concealed only by the neck being folded to one side of the opening of the skull. There are other sbructural differences, into which we need not enter. 2109. — The Alligator Toktoise (Emi/saunis serpentinus). Chelydra serpentina, Schweigger. It is to the section of Cryptodera, that this extraordinary species belongs, which seems to unite in its aspect the forms of the tortoise and crocodile. Its jaws are strong and hooked ; its head large, and covered with small plates ; its neck long, powerful, and capable of being retracted ; its limbs are thick ; and the feet are armed with five robust claws before, four behind ; the tail is long, and surmounted by a scaly crest, and neither tliis nor the limbs are capable of being retracted within the shell ; along the back of the fore-limbs hangs a loose expansion of coarse granulated skin ; two small barbies, or rounded excrescences, are under the chin. The plastron is small, but immovable. The aspect of this animal is ferocious, and its chp.racter accords with its aspect ; it is a native of the lakes, rivers, and morasses of Carolina, and when adult attains to very large dimensions, and is much to be dreaded. It swims with great rapidity, and pursues fish with avidity, tearing them in pieces by means of its talons. It also lurks amidst the luxuriant herbage of oozy swamps, or the reedy vegetation about the margin of rivers and lakes, ready to pounce upon aquatic birds, or other animals which come within its reach, and upon which it suddenly darts, catching them with a snap of its formidable mandibles. Mr. Bell records that he has known a stick of half an inch in diameter at once snapped asunder by the jaws of one of this species; and, as we can affirm, it is not safe to approach them unguardedly ; they will not only snap at the hands, if brought too near them, but repeat the attack, with every demonstration of malice. The individual which came under our observation was very young, and only two feet six inches in length ; yet, from the strength and fierceness it displayed, we were easily enabled to form an idea of the danger to be apprehended, in the case of a person, in the midst of one of the morasses of Carolina, suddenly coming in contact with an adult of large dimensions lurking in his hiding-place. The carapace of this species is of an oblong figure, depressed with three longitudinal ridges above ; the i general colour is brown ; the jaws and head are of an olive tint. It is the only known example of the genus. 2110.— The Matamata {Chclys Matamata) ; Ch. fimbriata, Spix. This singular animal belongs to the section Pieurodera. The strange appendages about the head, and the proboscis-like elongation of the nose, render this tortoise very remarkable. The head is depressed ; the eyes small; the limbs strong ; the nails robust ; and the tail short ; the snout is flexible, forming a double tube ; the mouth is extremely wide ; the jaws are defended by thin horny laminae ; along the back of the neck are two rows of fringed cutaneous appendages, anterior to which, on the top of the head on each side, is an ear-like membranous pro- longation ; two fringed membranes hang from the chin, and four others are placed across the throat. The carapace is depressed, with a longitudinal keel down the centre, and a furrow on each side of it. This species, which v^lien adult attains to three feet in length, is a native of South America, and in particular of Cayenne ; but, according to Latreille, is much scarcer there than formerly, owing to the estimation in which its flesh is held as food, an incessant persecution having been maintained against it. It is said, by this same author, to be nocturnal in its habits, and herbivorous. Such, however, is not the case ; it is certainly carnivorous, inhabiting lakes and rivers, where, with its proboscis above the surface, it conceals itself amidst floating aquatic herbage, awaiting the approach of water- fowl, fishes, &c., which it seizes when within reach. It swims rapidly, and darts with great velocity on its prey. This species was first described by Bruguiere, in 1792. (See 'Journal d'Histoiie Naturelle.') 2111. — The New Holland Chelodina (Chelodina Novm HoUandicB). The head and neck of the species of Chelodina remind us rather of a snake than of a tortoise, so narrow, flat, and pointed is the former, and so elongated the latter ; the jaws are slender, the gape wide ; the eyes vertically placed ; the tail very short ; the carapace depressed and oval ; the plastron broad. This singular tortoise inhabits the pools and stagnant or sluggish waters of New Holland, and is said to prey upon various aquatic reptiles, as frogs, &c., and fishes, which its long neck enables it to seize, as they approach its lurking-place, amidst aquatic herbage, or in the oozy mud. It is said to be rapid and active in its movements in the water. Two allied species are natives of South America. We now introduce the Fluviatile or River Tor- toises. From their conformation, the fluviatile tor- toises are exclusively aquatic, coming on shore only in order to deposit their eggs, and this they do stealthily by night, returning immediately to their congenial element. The essential characters of these tortoises are thus summed up by MM. Dumeril and Bibron: — "The carapace is a flexible cartilaginous expansion, form- ing the circumference of a centre of bone, by which it is supported ; the surface of this bone, which is nearly flat, is rugose, and marked with inequalities ; the ribs arc free at their ends ; the head is narrow and elongated ; and the nose terminates in a flexible preboscis; the jaws are trenchant, and are furnished externally with folds of skin resembling lips ; the eyes are prominent, placed near each other, and di- rected obliquely upwards. The plastron (Fig. 2093) is abbreviated posteriorly, but advances anteriorly, so as to come under the neck ; it is not perfectly os- seous, especially in the centre, and is united to the carapace by cartilage. The tail is short and thick ; the limbs are robust, with large webbed feet; of the toes, three only on each foot are armed with nails, these are nearly straight, and channelled underneath." To this we may add that the neck is long, and capable not only of being retracted and extended with great rapidity, but of performing lateral ser- pentine movements. These tortoises are fierce and voracious, and feed upon fishes, reptiles, birds, &c., at which they dart like a pike, from their hiding-place, launching out their long neck and snapping at their prey with arrow-like rapidity. Their flesh is- held in estima- tion, and they are taken by means of a hook and line; but so fiercely do they defend themselves, and so severely do they bite, taking out the portion seized with a snap, that the fishermen cut on their heads as soon as possible. Mr. Bell recoids an in- stance of a sailor having his finger snapped oft' by a trionyx (Gymnopus), which was on shipboai-d and ultimatelv placed in the Surrey Zoological Gardens. Though these tortoises seldom come on shore, they may often be seen slumbering on trunks of floating trees, or on rocks jutting above the surface of the water ; on the least alarm , however, they plunge and instantaneously disappear. No species of this family is European. All those known to naturalists are natives of the large lakes and rivei-s of the warmer regions, the Nile, Niger, and other rivers of Africa; the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Ganges, Sec. ; and in America, the Mississippi and Ohio. They attain to gigantic di- mensions. 2112. — The Americax Riveb-Tortoise (Gymnopus spinifenu). Trionyx ferox, Schweigger ; Testudo ferox, Schoepfer. This ferocious animal is a native of the rivers of Georgia and Florida, and also in the lakes situated both above and below the falls of Niagara ; it is not uncommon in the Wabash, a tributary of the Ohio, just before its junction with the Mississippi. ' An aquatic tyrant, this species is a terrible de- stroyer not only of fish, but also of water-fowl, quad- rupeds, and even young alligators, which it attacks with the utmost fury. On account of its flesh it is taken by means of a hook baited with fish, but when drawn on land it struggles desperately, darting its head right and left at its assailants with inconceiv- able velocity. In May the females of this species seek out some sandy spot on the river's bank, for the purpose of depositing their eggs, often crawling up very steep declivities, in order to secure a sunny aspect. The eggs, which are from fifty to sixty in number, are spherical, and very brittle. The young make their appearance in July. An allied species (G. muticus) inhabits the same localities. The other species are Asiatic and African. From the fluviatile we may now pass to the Ma- rine Tortoises, or Turtles. The marine tortoises, or turtles, are at once to be distinguished by the long paddle-like form of the limbs, of which the anterior pair are by far the most developed, and are used as oars, or rather as aquatic wings, by means of which they sail about, plough the waves, descend, or rise with the utmost address. On the land, which is only visited at certain seasons, these animals shuffle along, and with laborious efforts make only a slow progress. When turned over on their back on a flat sandy shore, they are unable, from the depression of the carapace, to recover their natural position. The marine tortoises are found in all the seas of the warm climates, but principally towards the torrid zone in the equinoctial ocean ; on the shores of the Antilles, Cuba, Jamaica, the Caiman Islands, and Hayti ; in the Atlantic Ocean ; at the Cape de Verd and Ascension Islands ; in the Indian Ocean ; at the Isles of France, Mada- gascar, Seychelles, and Rodriguez ; at Vem Cruz, in the Gulf of Mexico ; and at the Sandwich and Galapagos Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. Often are they seen slumbering motionless on a calm sunlit sea, seven or eight hundred leagues from land. They have their favourite breeding-places, to which thousands periodically resort, often travelling thither from immense distances. The eggs of most of the species are excellent, but the albuminous portion, or " white," does acquire firmness by boiling. Of the estimation in which the flesh of the green turtle is held, little need be said : in our island it is a luxury, but it also forms a useful and salutary portion of the stores of vessels engaged in the com- merce of the tropical and southern seas. It is the Hawksbill Turtle (Chelonia imbricata) which fur- nishes the horny plates, covering the carapace, known under the name of tortoiseshell. The jaws in all the turtles are robust ; the beak of the upper-jaw is hooked downwards ; the edges are sharp, sometimes serrated, and the lower mandible is received into a groove of the upper. Most feed upon various marine plants, and dive to tear them up from their beds ; some, however, feed upon Crus- tacea, shell-fish, cuttle-fishes, echini, &c., as the hawksbill, loggerhead, aud leathery tortoises. They exhale a musky odour. Audubon says, " The hawksbilled species feeds on sea-weeds, crabs, various kinds of shell-fish, and fishes ; the logger- head mostly on the fish of conch-shells of large size, which by means of its powerful beak it is enabled to crush to pieces, apparently with as much ease as a man cracks a walnut. The trunk (leathery) turtle feeds on molhisca, fish Crustacea, sea urchins (echini), and various marine plants." Most, especially the leathery turtle, utter, when Turtles.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 79 entangled in nets, or when wounded, loud roars, re- sounding to a great distance. Fig. 2113 represents a scene of turtle-catching by night on one of the West India Islands (a, the Green Turtle, Chelonia midas ; b, the Hawksbill Turtle, Ch. imbricata). It is on such a low sandy beach as that depicted, that the turtles deposit their eggs, taking caie that they are placed beyond high- water mark. " On nearing the shore," says M. Audubon, " and mostly on fine calm moonlight nights, the turtle raises her head above the water, being still distant thirty or forty yards from the beach, looks around her, and at- tentively examines the objects on sliore. Should she observe nothing likely to disturb her intended operations, she emits a loud hissing sound, by which such of her enemies as are unaccustomed to it are startled, and so apt to remove to another place, al- though unseen by her. Should she he_ar any more noise, or perceive any indications of danger, she in- stantly sinks and goes off to a distance ; but should everything be quiet, she advances slowly towards the beach, crawls over it, her head raised to the full stretch of her neck, and when she has reached a place fitted for her purpose she gazes all around in silence. Finding all well, she proceeds to form a hole in the sand, which she effects by removing it from under her body with her hind-flappers, scoop- ing it out with so much dexterity that the sides seldom if ever fall in. The sand is raised alternately with each flapper, as with a large ladle, until it has accumulated behind her, when, supporting herself with her head and fore-part on the ground, she with a. spring from each flapper sends the sand around her, scattering it to the distance of several feet. In this manner the hole is dug to the depth of eighteen inches or sometimes more than two feet. This labour I have seen performed in the short period of nine minutes. The eggs are then dropped one by one, and disposed in regular layers, to the number of one hundred and fifty, or sometimes nearly two hundred. The whole time spent in this operation may be about twenty minutes. She now scrapes the loose sand back over the eggs, and so levels and smooths the surface, that few persons seeing the spot would imagine that anything had been done to it. This accomplished to her mind, she retreats to the water with all possible despatch, leaving the hatching of the eggs to the heat of the sand'. When a turtle or loggerhead, for example, is in the act of dropping her eggs, she will not move, although one Rhouid go up to her, or even seat himself on her back ; but tiie moment it is finished, off she starts, nor would it then be possible for one, unless he were as strong as Hercules, to turn her over and secure her." It is at this crisis that the turtle fishery is carried on. " In spite," says Count Lacepede, " of the darkness which is chosen by the female tortoises for concealment when employed in laying their eggs, they cannot effectually escape from the pursuit of their enemies: the fishers wait for them on the shore, at the beginning of the night, especially when it is moonlight, and, as they come from the sea, or as they return after laying their eggs, they either despatch them with blows of a club, or turn them quickly over on their backs, not giving them time either to defend themselves, or to blind their assailants, by throwing up the sand with their fins. When very large, it requires the efforts of several men to turn them over, and they must often employ the assistance of handspikes or levers for that purpose. The buckler of this species is so flat as to render it impossible for the animal to recover the recumbent posture, when it is once turned on its back. " A small number of fishers may turn over forty or fifty tortoises, full of eggs, in less than three hours. During the day, they are employed in securing those which they had caught in the pre- ceding night. They cut them up, and salt the flesh and the eggs. Sometimes they may extract above thirty pints of a yellow or greenish oil from one large individual ; this is employed for burning, or when fresh is used with different kinds of food. Sometimes they drag the tortoises they have caught, on their backs, to enclosures, in which they are reserved for occasional use. " The tortoise-Kshers from the West Indies and the Bahamas, who catch these animals on the coast of Culja and its adjoining islands, particularly the Caimans, usually complete their cargoes in six weeks or two months ; they afterwards return to their own islands with the salted turtle, which is used for food both by the whites and the negroes. This salt turtle is in as great request in the Ame- rican colonies as the salted cod of Newfoundland is in many parts of Europe ; and the fishing is fol- lowed by all these colonists, particularly by the British, in small vessels, on various parts of the coast of Spanish America, and the neighbouring desert islands. " The green turtle is likewise often caught at sea in calm weather, and in moonlight nights. For i this purpose two men go together in a small boat, which is rowed by one of them, while the other is provided with a harpoon, similar to that used for killing whales. Whenever they discover a large I tortoise, by the froth which it occasions on the water in rising to the surface, they hasten to the [ spot as quickly as possible, to prevent it from escaping. The harpooner immediately throws his harpoon with sufficient force to penetrate through the buckler to the flesh ; the tortoise instantly dives, and the fisher gives out a line, which is fixed to the harpoon, and when the tortoise is spent with loss of blood, it is hauled into the boat or on shore." 2114. — The Hawk's-bill Turtle (Chelonia imbricata). La Caret, Lacepede. This species is well known, and much sought after for the sake of the scales of the carapace, which are the tortoiseshell of commerce ; and which are cruelly separated from the living animal by presenting the convex surface to a glowing fire ; as is done at Exeter Island, and other places where the fishery of this animal is carried on. It appears that after this barbarous operation the poor creatures are set at liberty, in order, as the shell grows again, that ano- ther crop of tortoiseshell may, in a future year, be taken : the second shell, however, is very thin and inferior. The eggs of this turtle are excellent, but the flesh is bad. The hawk's-biU turtle is not only an inhabitant of the warmer latitudes of the American seas, it fre- quents the Islands of Bourbon, the Seychelles, Am- boyna, New Guinea, and the Indian Seas. Three instances are on record of its having been captured on our shores. It attains to a large size, but seldom equals the green turtle, which often weighs three, four, or five hundred pounds, and sometimes even eight hundred, measuring six or seven feet in length. 2115. — The Leathery Turtle (Spargis coriacea). Testudo Lyra, Bechst. Tortue Luth of the French. In the genus Spargis the osseus structure of the carapace and plastron is covered with a leathery skin, instead of plates, tuberculous in the young, smooth in adults, with seven longitudinal-ridsed dorsal lines, slightly serrated. The plastron has five tuberculous ridges. The paddles have no distinct nails. In the leathery tortoise the muzzle is pointed, the jaws are of enormous power, and the upper has an acute tooth-like prominence at the anterior part on each side, with a deep indentation behind, and a triangular excavation anteriorly between the two teeth, for the reception of the shar.p turned-up apex of the lower jaw. The opening of the eyelids is almost vertical, and when closed the edge of the posterior (or lower) covers that of the anterior. The anterior paddles are immensely developed. This gigantic tortoise occasionally weighs from sixteen to seven- teen hundred pounds ; and stray individuals have been captured both on our shores and those of the adjacent continent, weighing seven or eight hun- dred. This species is found in the Atlantic, the Pa- cific, and Indian Oceans. It regularly visits the Tortueas, or Turtle islands of Florida, for the purpose of depositing its eggs, arriving there, according to Audubon, later than the other species, and being moreover less cautious in choosing a place for their concealment. The number of eggs which it de- posits is about three hundred and fifty, in two sets. It is occasionally seen in the Mediterranean, and is said by Latreille to breed on the sandy shores of Barbary. When attacked and wounded, this turtle utters loud and piercing cries, which have been heard at the distance of a quarter of a league. Though I very fat, the flesh is coarse and hard, and has been known to produce most severe effects in persons who have partaken of it ; we cannot however af- firm that it is poisonous. Fig. 2116 represents the Plastron of the Leathery Turtle. ORDER SAURIA (LIZARDS). This order includes a vast assemblage of living beings, from the ferocious crocodile to the harmless little lizard of our copses, or the arboreal chameleon of the borders of the Mediterranean. It is in the glowing regions of the intertropics that these beings abound, a few species only, and those of small size, tenanting our latitudes. Great is the diversity of form and habits among the Sauria : some are more or less aquatic, some ar- boreal, others strictly terrestrial, and a few on ex- panded parachutes are capable of skimming, like the flying squirrel, from tree to tree. The limbs are in general four, the figure is elongated, always ter- mmating in a tail ; the body is covered either by hard horny or bony plates, by scales or by granulations. The eyes, excepting in certain instances, are pro- tected by eyelids. Generally a tympanic membrane covers the external orifice of the organs of hearing. The tongue differs greatly in form ; in some it is a rudiment, in some long and forked, in others fleshy ; it, is lubricated by a glutinous saliva. All are as a rule oviparous. The ribs are movable, and in part attached to the breast-bone (sternum) ; but besides these, in some the abdominal parietes are supported, by a series of slender rib-like bones, free, but con- verging to a medial line. The mouth is armed with teeth ; the lungs are extensive. Most if not all change their cuticle, and like the snake appear in brighter colours. Hybernation is gervjral. Family CROCODILID.'E (CROCODILES). Many writers regard the crocodiles as forming a dis- tinct order, under the term Loricata] (Kmydosauri, Gray), in allusion to the peculiar coat of hard mail by which they are protected. ''Jhey are distin- guished," says Mr. Bell, "by several important cha- racters ; of these the most tangible and obvious is that upon which the name of the order (Loricata) is founded, the covering of the whole back part of the neck, body, and tail presenting distinct series of bones of moderate size, imbedded as it were in the sub- stance of the skin, and covered externally with a cuticle. These dermal bones are usually furnished with a crest, which renders them exceedingly strong, and they altogether form a panoply of defence which can resist the attacks of the most powerful enemies of whatever kind." We need not say that these animals are fierce and carnivorous ; they often take their prey in the water, retiring to some retreat on the shore in order to de- vour it, and relish it in a state of putrescence. The tail is long, thick, muscular, and compressed ; it is ridged above. The limbs are short ; the an- terior feet have five toes, of which the two outer- most are destitute of a nail ; the hinder feet have four toes more or less united by intervening webs. The head is depressed above, furrowed and rugged. The jaws are enormous, and the teeth are numerous, thick, of unequal length, of a conical figure, and hollow at the ijase, which receives, when implanted in the socket, the germ of the tooth destined to re- place it (see Fig, 2117) ; they are arranged in a line at a distance from each other, the intervals mutually ■ receiving the teeth of the opposite jaw, when both are closed. The auditory orifice is protected by a strong movable lid or valve capable of being raised or shut down at pleasure. The eyes are small, but bright, and the pupil is vertical and linear. Besides the outer eyelitis there is a transparent membrana nictitans. The nostrils are seated at the extremity of the muzzle on its upper aspect ; they are close 1 together and valvular ; the nasal canals do not open, into the mouth, but into a post-oral space, divided from the mouth by a valvular cartilaginous expan- sion of the OS hyoides, which is so accurately ad- justed to a depending portion of the palate as com- pletely to bound the back of the mouth ; hence, if the nostrils only are raised above the water, the cro- codile may keep the mouth open below or hold his prey to drown, himself breathing at ease. In the act of swallowing, the valve is drawn down by the muscles of deglutition, so as to leave for an instant the passage free, and the food bolted in large masses, is received into the dilatable gullet. The space between the two branches of the lower jaw is muscular, covered internally with a yellow skin, full of glands, whence oozes a viscid saliva. This part represents the tongue, if indeed we may not : say that this organ is wanting. Beneath the throat are two large musk glands opening externally by : small orifices, whence exudes an unctuous matter, of a strong odour. It is difficult to conjecture its use. These fierce reptiles are divided into three groups or genera : Alligators or Caimans ; true Crocodiles ; and Gavials. 2118. — Thb Pike-kosed Caiman or Alligator (Alligator Lucius). The caimans (or caymans) are peculiar to America, and distinguished by the fol- lowing characters :— the head is broad ; the muzzle oblong and depressed ; the teeth are of unequal length, and the fourth on each side, from the front teeth, is elongated and received into a cavity of the upper jaw when the mouth is closed ; the hinder limbs are rounded and destitute of the ridged scales down the hinder margin so conspicuous in the true crocodiles, and the webs between the toes are much less developed. See Fig 2119; a, the Hind Leg of the Caiman ; b, of the Crocodile. The form of the Head is well depicted at Fig. 2120 ; it is of the A. Lucius. Several species are known, distinguished among other points by the differences in the arrangement of the cervical osseus plates, which is, however, subject to certain variations even in the same species. Fig. 2121 shows the Cervical Plates of the Pike- I nosed Caiman (A. Lucius). Fig. 2122 those of the ,Iacar6 (A. Sclerops). Fig. 2123 those of the Spec- i| tacled Caiman (A. Palpebrosus). Fig 2124 those of ail4_CerTical PUla of Specudeil Catmui. 2111.— Cmkal PlatM ot Plka-nowd Ctlman. SISt.— Cerriotl PUt« of Spacuclad Caioun. Ziaj.-Cerriaa Plato of Jtcui. 8118.— Pika-nwed Caiman, or Alligator. 81 IT.— Tooth of Crocodile, 2! 20.— Head of Caiman. 80 »MS.— SlMltton and gltraam of Pike-nowd Oaitoan, or AUljalor. Sn9.— Hindi*; of Caiman (■), and of Crocodile (()■ S12fl.— Sknlli of Crocodile and Caiman. No. 61. Vol, II. ^\19 2 130 — CoHimon Crocodile. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 81 82 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Crocodiubs. a variety of the Spectacled Caiman, accordinfj to M. Bibron ; termed by Schneider, Crocodilus Tngo- natus. J n Fisj. 2125, a renresents the Skeleton of the Pike- nosed Caiman, and well illustrates its structure, especially the peculiarity of the cervical vertebrte, with their lateral appendages, which limit the extent of motion in the head from side to side ; b, the ster- num, with the cartilages of the ribs attached to it, and the additional slender ribs supporting the abdo- minal parietes. Like the rest of its genus, the piked-nosed caiman inhabits exclusively fresh waters, seldom appearing in the brackish mouths of rivers, much less venturing to cross straits of the sea from island to island, as do the crocodiles. This species, which is said to attain to upwards of twenty feet in length, is very exten- sively spread in North America. It is found in the Mississippi, in the lakes and rivers of Louisiana and of Carolina, and specimens have been brought from Savannah and New Orleans. According to Bartram these formidable reptiles may be seen in troops, in creeks and bays of the river where fish abound ; and he states that he saw in Florida vast numbers of alligators as well as fish, in a mineral spring near the Musquito river, though the water at its exit from the earth was nearly at the boiling point and strongly impregnated with copper and vitriol. Of all the alligators this, if we are to credit what Bartram says, is the most dangerous : it attacks both quad- rupeds and men, while bathing or ciossinsr the rivers, and is even said to prefer the flesh of the negro to all other food. W e do not suppose that such diet is often obtained. It is during the nieht that the alligator is most active, this being the chief time in which it pursues its prey. Assembled numbers beset the mouth of some secluded creek, into which they have driven shoals of fishes, and their bellowing, not unlike that of a bull, may be heard at the distance of a mile. In order to seize the fish, they dive under the shoal, and, having snapped up a victim, rise to the surface, toss it into the air to get rid of the water, which has filled the mouth, catch it as it falls, bolt it, and renew the chase. When they happen to seize upon any animal, as a pig or dog, too large to be swallowed at once, they conceal the carcase in some hole under the bank till it begins to putrify, when they drag it forth, carry it on shore amidst the concealment of luxuriant herbage, and devour it at leisure. When about to lay, the female excavates a deep hole in the sandy or soft bank of the river, and deposits her eggs in layers, separating each layer by means of an intervenmg bed of leaves, dry grass, and mud ; the number is fifty or sixty : over these she watches with care till the young are hatched, and for some months afterwards leads them about, takes care of them, and defends them from enemies. Birds and beasts of prey, however, are on the watch, and seldom more than half the brood reach the water; there they are subject to the attacks of large fishes, and even the grown males of the same «pecies. During the warmth of summer, these animals may be seen, indolently basking on the bank, during the middle of the day, luxuriating in the rays of the sun, or floating on the surface of the still water, with their large flat heads surrounded by the leaves of water-lilies and other aquatic plants : one perhaps every now and then will dart forwards with a roar, lashing at the same time violently with his tail, and leaving a long wake in his track. On the setting in of winter, these reptiles bury themselves in swamps and marshes under the mud, and as the cold increases sink into a lethargic slumber so pro- found that the severest wounds fail to rouse them to animation. They are never frozen, and the par- tial return of warmth for a few hours is sufficient to bring about a temporary revival. The flesh of this and the other species is musky, notwithstanding which it is eaten by the Indians. The true Crocodiles are tenants of Africa, India, and also of the hotter regions of America, and the islands. The muzzle is much more acute than in the alligators ; the teeth are unequal, and the front teeth of the lower jaw, at a certain age, pierce the upper jaw; the fourth on each side is the longest, and is not received into a hollow of the upper jaw when the mouth is shut, but a lateral notch makes room for it. The hind-limbs have a dentelated crest on their external border ; the three outer toes are entirely webbed. "Nothing," observe MM. Dumfril and Bibron, " belter distinguishes the cro- codiles from the alligators than the narrowness of the muzzle behind the nostrils ; a narrowness which is produced by the deep notch on each side of the upper mandible, serving for the passage of the fourth lower tooth." "The cranial holes are larger than in the caimans. The nasal aperture is oval, or sub- circular. There is a very small bony plate in the substance of the upper eyelid ." Fig. 2 126 represents comparative views of the Skull of the common Crocodile, and of the Pike-nosed Caiman ; a, the Skull of the Common Crocodile, seen from above ; b, the Skull of the Pike-nosed Caiman, in the same view ; c. the Skull of the Crocodile, in profile ; d, the Skull of the Caiman, in the same view. Fig. I 2127 represents the Cervical Plates of the Common Crocodile. 2128, 2129, 2130.— Thk Common Crocodile {Crocodilut vulgaris). There is perhaps no genus of Reptiles, the species of which are so difficult to be distinguished from each other, as those of the present: we find, indeed, that M. Bibron distin- guishes four varieties of the common crocodile ; and others, described as distinct species, are to be re- garded as doubtful. If the four varieties, notwith- standing their differences, be identical, the range of the common crocodile is very extensive. It is found in the Nile, the Senegal, and other African rivers ; the Ganges, and the lagoons of various parts of India, and the Seychelles Islands. The crocodile, which is by most writers regarded as the leviathan of the book of Job, was by some of the Egyptians regarded as sacred, but not, as it would appear from the statement of Herodotus, by all. His words are, " Among some of the Egyptians the crocodile is sacred, while others pursue him as an enemy. The inhabitants of the Thebais and the shores of the Lake Moeris regard him with venera- tion. Each person has a tame crocodile ; he puts pendants of glass and gold in its ear-lids, and gives it a regular allowance of food daily. When it dies it is embalmed, and placed in the sacred repository. But the inhabitants of the territory of Elephantine eat the crocodile, not at all regarding it as sacred. This animal is not called in Egypt crocodile (kpok6- SeiKos), but champsa ; for the former appellation was originally applied to it by the lonians, on ac- count of its resemblance to a lizard so called, which they find in their hedges." With respect to the word champsa (x^mW. it differs but little from the modern appellation for the crocodile in Egypt. In Coptic, it is amsah, or hamsa, which, as we learn, with the feminine article prefixed, has made the Arabic word timsah, or temsah, now in common use on the banks of the Nile. According to Strabo, a sacred crocodile was in his time kept in a tank, in the city called Crocodinopolis, afterwards termed Arsinoii, and at- tended by priests. The animal was tame, and went under the name of Suclius, or Suchis (SoSxos or SoDxis), a word,* as it would appear, applicable only to this distinguished individual. The poor beast was fed most unnaturally. " Our host," says Strabo, " who was a person of importance, and our guide to all the sacred things, went with us to the tank, taking with him from table a small cake, some roasted meat, and a small cup of mulled wine. We found the crocodile lying on the margin. The priests immediately went up to him, and while some of them opened his mouth, another put in the cake, crammed down the flesh, and finished by pouring down the wine. The crocodile then jumped into the pond, and swam to the opposite side." Glad, no doubt, was the animal to escape its tormentors. As we have stated, the crocodile was not held sa- cred in all parts of Egypt, but appears to have been sometimes kept tame, as is attested by one of the marbles in the Townley Collection in the British Museum, which apparently represents an Egyptian tumbler, exercising his feats on the back of one of these animals. (See Fig. 2131.) "The Egyptian notions as to sacred things seem not a little strange and contradictory ; the crocodile was also one of the symbols of Typhon, the evil genius, and the murderer of Osiris. It was an Egyptian notion that Typhon assumed this form to avoid the vengeance of Horus, the son of Osiris. Between Harpocrates, an Egyptian deity not men- tioned by Herodotus (but known to the later Greeks by this corrupted name), and Horus, there were some points of resemblance, and hence the subjects of the bronzes (see Figs. 2132 and 2133) may refer to Horus trampling on the crocodile. "7— {' Egypt. Antiq ') We must not omit to notice that Herodotus, in his account of the crocodile, says, that as it so constantly frequents the water, its mouth becomes infected with bdel/ce (pitwai), which are by most scholars supposed to mean leeches ; and he adds, that a small bird, called the trochilus (rpiixiAot), relieves him of these pests, boldly entering within his jaws, opened to receive the western breeze, and picking them out, while the huge beast, pleased with the service rendered, offers no injury to its little benefactor. By M. Geoffrey St. Hilaire, these bdellae or suck- ing creatures were considered to be some species of gnat, and the trochilus one of the Plover tribe ; and we learn from M. Descourtils that a species of gnat infests the gums and palate of the caimans of America. • M. Champollion says ttie E^ptians gave the name of Souk to a deity represented as a man ^Yith a crocodile's bead. We learn from Pliny that the Romans first saw crocodiles in the aedileship of Scaurus, about twenty- eight years before the Christian era, and that he ex- hibited five. Augustus introduced thirty-six of them into the amphitheatre, where they were en- countered and killed by gladiators, as an amuse- ment to the spectators. Though the crocodile is no longer seen in the Delta, it is abundant in the Thebaid and the Upper Nile, and in the tributary branches throughout Nubia and Abyssinia. In Dongola, at the present day, it is killed for the sake of its flesh, which is regarded as a delicacy. Thevenot, who tasted crocodile's flesh in Egypt, found it good, though rather insipid. The mode in which this powerful and ferocious animal is captured in Angola is described as fol- lows by Dr. Kiippell, who often witnessed it:—" The most favourable season," he observes, " is either the winter, when the animal usually sleeps on sand- banks, luxuriating in the rays of the sun, or the spring, after the pairing time, when the female re- gularly watches the sand-islands where she has buried her eggs. The native finds out the place, and on the south side of it, that is to the leeward, he digs a hole in the sand, throwing up the earth to the side which he expects the animal to take. There he conceals himself; and the crocodile, should it fail to observe him, comes to the accustomed spot, and soon falls asleep. The huntsman then darts his harpoon, with all his force, at the animal, for in order that the stroke may be successful, the iron ought to penetrate to the depth of at least four inches, in order that the barb be fixed firmly in the flesh. The crocodile, on being wounded, rushes into the water, and the huntsman retreats to a canoe, with which a companion hastens to his assistance. A piece of wood, attached to the harpoon by a long cord, swims on the water, and shows the direction in which the crocodile is moving. The huntsmeni pulling at this rope, drag the beast to the surface of the water, where it is again pierced by a second harpoon. The skill of the harpooner consists in giving to the weapon sufficient impulse to pierce through the coat of mail which protects the croco- dile. "When the animal is struck, it by no means re- mains inactive ; on the contrary, it lashes violently with its tail, and endeavours to bite the rope asunder. To prevent this, the rope is made of about tliirty separate slender lines, not twisted together, but merely placed in juxtaposition, and bound round at intervals of every two feet. The thin lines get between the teeth, or become entangled about them. " It frequently happens that the harpoons, by the pulling of the men, break out of the animal's body, and it escapes. " If I had not seen the fact with my own eyes, I could hardly have believed that two men could drag out of the water a crocodile fourteen feet long, fasten his muzzle, tie his legs over his back, and finally despatch him, by plunging a sharp instrument into his neck, so as to divide the spinal chord. "The iron part of the harpoon which is used by the huntsmen is a span long, and formed toward the point like a penknife, being sharp on one edge ; beyond this edge there is a strong barb, while on the back of the blade a piece projects to which the rope is lastened. This iron head is affixed to a shaft of wood eicht feet in length. The flesh and fat of the crocodile are eaten by the Barabas or Berbe- rines, who consider them excellent; both, however, have an odour of musk so strong that I could never eat crocodile's flesh without sickness follow- ing. The musk-glands of the animal form a great part of the profit which results from this capture ; as the Berberines will give as much as two dollars for them, the unguent being used as a perfume for the hair. " In some of the rivers of Africa, the negroes are bol4 enough, and indeed skilful enough, to combat the crocodile in his own element. Armed onlv with a sharp dagger they dive beneath him, and plunge the weapon into his belly. It often happens, however, that the combat is fatal to the man, and frequently his only chance of escape is to force his dagger, or if this be lost, his thumbs, into the ani- mal's eyes, with all his might, so as to produce great pain and blindness." Herodotus explains the mode of crocodile-hunting in his time, which was managed by means of a hook, baited with the chine of a pig, while the attention of the monster was aroused by the cries of a living pig, which the fishers had with them on the shore". In anticipation of prey he dashed into the river, and meeting the baited hook instantly seized and swallowed it, and was then dragged ashore : the men then endeavoured to bhnd his eyes with mud, and when this was accomplished, his destruction was easy, but if not, so violent were his sfruirgles, and so dangerous was it to approach him, that it was not without difficulty that he was despatched. Chameleons.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 83 Fish, floating carrion, pigs, dogs, and other ani- mals surprised on the banks of the river, are the food of the crocodile ; yet on land escape is by no means difficult, as the legs are ill-formed lor running, and the little false ribs, or appendages to the ver- tebrae of the neck, limiting the lateral motion of that part, render sudden turns a matter of difficulty. In the water, on the contrary, the animal is prompt and rapid ; lashing his tail from side to side, he cleaves the waters like an arrow, leaving a track behind him from the impetuosity of his progress. Sometimes it is said he will dart forward into the middle of the river, uttering a loud bellowing, his eyes glaring and his body swollen, while with his powerful tail he lashes the surrounding water, till it is worked into a loam. This exhibition of excite- ment ended, he darts off to his accustomed covert, and regains his concealment. The eggs of the crocodile are of an oblong shape, hard, and somewhat larger than those of a goose ; and the young, compared with their' gigantic pa- rents, are very small, but display, even at that early period their innate ferocity. Numbers, both of young and eggs, are destroyed by beasts and birds of prey. The Ichneumon (described in vol. i., p. 214, Fig. 951) has been from an ancient date cele- brated for the havoc it makes among them. Though none of the crocodile tribe are natives of Europe, Malte Brun, in his ' Syst. Geol.,' vol. viii., p. 193, states that a crocodile is still preserved at Lyons, which was taken about two centuries ago in the Rhone, but no particulars are given. We can only account for the circumstance by supposing the animal to have wandered along the coasts of the Mediterranean from the Delta of the Nile, or per- haps from some of the rivers of North-western Africa, and have made its way into the Mediterranean. 2134.— The Gavial (Gavialis Gangeticus). Head of Gavial of the Ganges. Gangetic Crocodile. Crocodilus tenuiros- tris, Daudin ; Or. longirostris, Schn. The Gavial, of which only one species is known, is subject to considerable variations in its progress from youth to maturity. It is characterized by the jaws being very much elongated and narrow, and somewhat depressed beak, armed with formidable teeth to the number of one hundred and eighteen or one hundred and twenty. The first and fourth tooth on each side of the lower jaw are the longest, and are received not into cavities of the upper jaw, but into conspicuous notches. This long and formid- able beak sinks suddenly from the forehead, and is expanded at its extremity, where the valvular nos- tril form a large oval cartilaginous mass. The eye- lid contains in its substance the rudiment of a bony plate. At Fig. 2134 are represented, a, the Skull of the Great Gavial, seen from above ; b, the lower jaw ; c, the profile of the Skull ; d, an outline of the Head of the Gavial, covered with the integuments. There are musk glands under the lower jaw. The hind feet of the Gavial closely resemble those of the true crocodiles, but the cervical plates are arranged more nearly like those of the caiman ; forming a long band, commencing on the nape of the neck, and prolonging themselves to the dorsal plates. There IS, however, some diversity, as seen at Fig. 2135, representing the cervical plates of two individuals, from Cuvier. The scales of the flanks are oval and flat, the keels of the plates, forming the dorsal cuirass, are low, but the crest of the tail is much elevated. The Gavial is a native of the Ganges, and is the largest of the living Sauria, often exceeding twenty- five feet in length ; it is one of the scourges of the river, and is very formidable from its strength and ferocity. The dying Hindoo exposed upon the bank, or the dead body consigned to the sacred waters, often becomes the prey of this dreaded mon- ster. Several species of fossil crocodile have been dis- covered ; they belong to a distinct genera, and it is remarkable that those examples alone, which have elongated beaks, approximating to the modern Gavial, occur in formations anterior to and including the chalk, whilst those with a short broad snout, like that of the caiman, appear for the first time in tertiary strata, containing in abundance the remains of Mammalia. " The discovery of crocodilean forms," says Dr. Buckland, " so nearly allied to the living Gavial, in the same early strata that contain the first traces of the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosau- rus, is a fact which seems wholly at variance with every theory that would derive the race of crocodiles from Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, by any process of gradual transmutation or development. The Hrst appearance of all these three families of reptiles, seems to have been nearly simultaneous ; and they all continued to exist together until the termination of the secondary formations, when the Ichthyo- sauri and Plesiosauri became extinct, and forms of crocodiles approaching the cavman and alligator Vol. II. were for the first time introduced." (' Bridgewater Treatise,' vol. i., p. 254.) Of the long-beaked fossil forms, that which ap- proaches the nearest to the living Gavial is the Ste- neosaurus, of which Fig. 2136 represents the muzzle, from a specimen procured at Havre ; according to Dr. Buckland, the relics of the same species are met with in the Kimmeridge clay of Shotover Hill, near Oxford. In another fossil genus, viz., Teleo- saurus, the beak is also narrow and elongated, but the nasal orifice, instead of opening upwards, ter- minates the anterior apex of the upper jaw, as seen at Fig. 2137. Referring to Fig. 2138, a represents the head of Teleosaurus Chapmanni, seen from above ; h, the head of another individual of the same species, seen from below, showing the lower jaw ; c, an inside view of the extremity of the lower jaw. This species is found in the lias, in the neighbour- hood of Whitby, and in the great oolite of Oxon. In Crocodilus Spenceri (Fig. 2139), the skull ap- proaches closely to that of the caimans, and is broad with a short and heavy snout. It is found in the London clay of the Isle of Sheppey. • We shall here leave the crocodiles, the family Crccodilidae of some authors, the order Emydosauri of De Blainville, Mr. Gray, and others, and advance to the true Sauria, which appear to emerge gra- dually through a series of forms to the Ophidia (or Snakes), or at least to approximate towards them. Of the various systematic arrangements of the true Sauria, none appear to us so clear and simple as the one given by that eminent naturalist Mr. Gray, in the ' Synopsis of the Contents of the British Museum' (1840). But at the same time wc must not omit an express notice of the admirable ' Erp6tologie G6n6rale,' of MM. Dum6ril and Bibron, one of the standard works on reptiles of the present day, to which we shall often have occasion to refer. Before we enter upon our subject, however, it may be as well to allude to an old superstition, which, under various phases, has passed from the pages of Pliny, Dioscorides, Solinus, .S)lian. and others, to those of the naturalists of the last century. Who has not heard of the basilisk or cockatrice, the king of serpents, with a regal crown upon its head, blighting the herbage with its breath, and striking dead with a glance of its eye ? It would appear that several sorts of these crea- tures, "bodied forth" by imagination, were sup- posed to exist, all " monstra horrenda ;" and one, the concentration of evil, was said to be produced from the eggs of extremely old cocks, hatched under toads and serpents. This parentage, indeed, is attributed by some to the whole brood. Pliny, after stating that this creature kills with a glance of the eye, adds that "the Cyreriaic Province produces him, of the size of not more than twelve fingers, and remarkable for a white spot like a diadem on his head. He drives away all serpents by hissing ; nor does he impel his body like the rest by a mul- tiplied flexion, but advances lofty and elevated. He kills the shrubs not only by contact, but by breathing on them, scorches up the green herbage, and splits the rocks, such power of evil is there in him. It was formerly believed that if killed by a spear from on horseback, the virulence of the poi- son, conducted through the weapon, destroyed not only the rider but the horse also." Johnston, who enters very gravely into all the evil qualities of this basilisk, doubts the possibility of its asserted mode of production, but he and others of our earlier writers believed in its existence. " Yet was the basilisk mortal, and had foes proof against its fatal glance and withering breath. Of these one was the weasel ; this animal feared not the en- counter, and when bitten or hurt in the combat, it would retire, and eat some rue, the only herb which the monster's breath could not dry up, and again return to the charge, and never cease the conflict till it had stretched its enemy dead." Another dreaded animal was a cock, for though sprung from the egg of such a bird, mirabile dictu,no sooner did it hear " the cock's shrill clarion," than it instantly expired. We present our readers with two represen- tations of basilisks or cockatrices, from Aldrovandus, one of which he owes to Grevinus. Fig. 2140, Basiliscus in SoUtudine Africae vivens ; the basilisk inhabiting the deserts of Africa. Fig. 2141, Basilis- cus, sive Regulus, Grevini. The basilisk, or kinglet, of Grevinus. We have said enough about a fable utterly un- worthy of our serious notice. The title basilisk, or basiliscus, is applied by modern naturalists to a genus peculiar to South America. Family CHAM/ELEONID.E (CHAMELEONS). These singular reptiles, which are distributed to Africa, India and its islands, the Seychelles Islands, Bourbon, and Mauritius, Australia, &c., but not America, as far as is at present ascertained, may be distinguished by the deep compressed form of the body, surmounted by an acute dorsal ridge ; by the toes, which are united together as far as the latt joint, and armed with sharp claws, being disposed in two sets, antagonizing with each other, three being placed anteriorly, two posteriorly, and form- ing, like the foot of the parrot, efficient graspers ; by the surface of the skin being covered, not by scales, but by minute horny granules ; and by the pre- hensile power of the tapering tail. The head, we may add, is large, and from the shortness of the neck, seems as if set upon the shoulders ; it is some- what wedge-shaped in figure, being broad across the occiput, which is surmounted with an elevated crest or casque, in some species g^reatly developed ; an abrupt ridge overtops both eyes, extending thence to the muzzle, where each ridge meets. The mouth is very wide, and the jaws are armed with small trilobed teeth. The tongue is a most extrordinary organ, and is the instrument by means of which the animal takes its insect prey. It consists of a hollow tube, with a fleshy tuberculated " apex, and is capable of being darted out instantaneously to a great distance, and as instantaneously retracted. When retracted it folds up within itself, somewhat after the manner of a pocket telescope ; it is lubri- cated by a glutinous saliva, and when fully ex- tended is vermiform in appearance. So rapidly does the animal launch this instrument at a fly, or other insect, or at a drop of water on a leaf or twig, and so rapidly is it withdrawn, that the eye can but just follow the movement. The eyes of the chameleon have a singular and odd expression. They appear mere points : the whole of the anterior portion of the ball, excepting the pupil, being covered with skin, forming a single circular eyelid. The balls thus covered with skin, to which they are attached, are set each in a large orbit, with a deep furrow around them, and roll about, perfectly independent of each other ; so that the axis of one eye may be directed backwards, for- wards, upwards, or downwards, and that of the other in a contrary direction, the animal making two dis- tinct surveys at the same moment, thus producing a grotesque effect. We have heard of the chameleon's food being the air ; it lives, however, on more substantial diet ; but this story may have arisen from the following cir- cumstance : — the lungs are exceedingly voluminous, and these the creature is able to flll with air, so as to puff itself up, and in this state it often remains for hours without any movement of respiration being perceptible ; on exhausting the lungs of the air, the sides of the body fall in, and the frame has a meagre appearance till the lungs are again inflated, when it becomes suddenly bloated as before. Certain con- tinuations of these lungs penetrate the numerous cellules into which the abdominal cavity is regularly divided, while others penetrate under the skin be- tween the muscles, to which the former adheres only by lax membranes, especially on the spine, down the centre of the under parts, and on the limbs and tail. It may be asked, — Are not the changes in the colour of the skin, for which the chameleon has been long celebrated, dependent in some degree on the respiration and differences of condition in the lungs ? Barrow indeed declares, that previously to the chameleon's changing colour, it makes a long inspiration, swelling out twice its usual size, and that as the inflation subsides the change of colour gradually takes place, the only permanent marks being two small dark lines passing along the sides. From this account some have ascribed the transi- tions of tint to the influence of oxygen on the fluids and tissues of the body ; and there is much appear- ance of probability in the theory. Dr. Weissenborn attributes these changes to the varied influence of light on the nervous system. The following is M. Milne Edwards's theory, which after all does not leave the subject completely ex- plained. See ' Ann. des Sciences Nat.,' Jan., 1834. The results of his observations are : — 1. "That the change in the colour of chameleons does not depend essentially either on the more or less considerable swelling of their bodies, or the changes which might hence result to the condition of their blood or circulation ; nor does it depend on the greater or less distance which may exist between the several cutaneous tubercles ; although it is not to be denied that these circumstances probably exercise some influence upon the phenomenon. 2. " That there exist in the skin of these animals two layers of membraneous pigment, placed the one above the other, but disposed in such a way as to appear simultaneously under the cuticle, and some- times in such a manner that the one fnay hide the other. 3. " That everything remarkable in the changes of colour which manifest themselves in the chameleon may be explained by the appearance of the pigment of the deeper layer to an extent more or less consi- derable, in the midst of the pigment of the super- ficial layer ; or from its disappearance beneath this layer. 4. "That these displacements of the deeper pig- M2 jt»,_Atneil PUtnof Oirii'.s. »IS7. SMi.— ^Genunon Ghunelton. 2143.— Ilead and Tongue of Cbamcleon. 2138.— Headi of Teleosnirns. Fossil. 2145.— Skulls of Fork-nosea Chameleon. 2U1.— BuiUdi of Ominus. 2140.— BarilUk (torn Aldrorandoj. 2134.— Head of OOTial. .—Maille of SteneosannB. TuaM. 2139.— SkoU of Ciocodnc. FoeU. 2142.— Skeleton of Chameleon. 81 ElJl.— K^vatian Gocko. 2 2,a ^^^ Hfc 5, a 4, a 2KT.— Feet of Geckis. a, a /"A 2 148.— Feet of Geckos. 2ue,— Skull of Gecko. 2152.— .MUius'a Gecko. 2150.— Seychelles Gecko. SU3.— 13>iiaed Gecko. 8149.— Smooth-headed Gecko. 85 86 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Geckos. ment. do in reality occur ; and it is a probable con- sequence that the chameleon's colour changes dur- ing life, and may continue to change even after death 5. " That there exists a close analogy between the mechanism by the help of which the changes of colour appear to take place in these reptiles, and that which determines the successive appearance and disappearance of coloured spots in the mantles of several of the cephalopods." How the mechanical admixture of two pigments can produce the various tints, exhibited at different times by the skin of the chameleon, as primary yellow and red, yellowish grey, brown and violet, or dull inky blue, is not very clear. Must not the pigments themselves change colour ? We think so. The skeleton is remarkable for the strong spinous processes of the vertebral column ; the number of the cervical vertebrse is only five (the majority of Sauna having eight) ; it is represented at Fig. 2142. Fig. 2143 represents the Head and Tongue of the Chameleon in the act of taking prey. As all its form indicates, the chameleon is arboreal in its habits ; it traverses the twigs and branches in a slow and cautious manner, clinging by the tail, and grasping with its feet ; on the ground its motions are awkward and irresolute, and it gropes about, using its limbs in succession rather than in pairs. We have had abundant opportunities of observing the chameleon in captivity, and cannot say that it is very attractive. It is slow and inanimate, ever seeking the warmth of the sun, in the rays of which It wili bask for hours together, changing its tints as evening draws on, and assuming with darkness a dusky hue. In a hothouse, it will live among the plants, as if in a state of perfect liberty, but never displays any intelligence or activity. The female digs an excavation in the ground for the reception of her eggs, and covers them with earth and dried herbage. The eggs are numerous, and oval, and covered with a tough semicalcareous sort of parchment. 2144. — The Common Chameleon (Chamceleon vulgaris). This species is a native of Egypt, and the northern line of Africa, and also the southern districts of Spain and Sicily. It was well known to the ancients, and is the ;^u/utixiut of Aristotle. A distinct variety, or nearly allied species, in- Iiabits India. Dr. Weissenborn, who had a chameleon for some months in his possession, remarks, that of all the cir- cumstances connected with the variations of its colour, none were more surprising than the differ- ence between the tint of one side of the body and that of the other at the same time ; and he attributes this to separate galvanic or nervous currents, di- rected independently of each other to the two sides of the body. His words are : " The remote cause of the differ- ence of colour in the two lateral halves of the body may be distinctly referred to the manner in which the light acts upon the animal. The statement of Murray, that the side turned towards the light is always of a darker colour, is perfectly true ; this rule holds good with reference to the direct and diffused light of the sun and moon as to artificial light. Even when the animal was moving in the walks of my garden, and happened to come near enough to the border to be shaded by the box edging, that side so shaded would instantly become less darkly coloured than the other. Now, as the light in these cases seldom illumines exactly one half of the animal in a more powerful manner than the other, and as the middle line is constantly the line of demarcation between the two different shades of colour, we must evidently refer the different effects to two different centres, from which the nervous currents can only radiate, under such cir- cumstances, towards the organs respectively situated on each side of the mesial line. Over these centres, without doubt, the organ of vision immediately pre- sides : and indeed we ought not to wonder that the action of light has such powerful effects on the highly irritable organization of the chameleon, con- aidering that the eye is most highly developed. The lungs are but secondarily affected, but they are likewise more strongly excited on the darker side, which is constantly more convex than the other. " Many other circumstances may be brought for- ward in favour of the opinion that the nervous currents in one half of the chameleon are going on independently of those in the other ; and that the animal has two lateral centres of perception, sen- sation, and motion, besides the common one in which must reside the faculty of concentration. Notwithstanding the strictly symmetrical structure of the chameleon, as to its two halves, the eyes move independently of each other, and convey dif- ferent impressions to their different centres of per- ception : the consequence is, that when the animal is agitated, its movements appear like those of two animals glued together. Eacn half wishes to move its own way, and there is no concordance of action. The chameleon, therefore, is not able to swim like other animals : it is so frightened if put into water, the faculty of concentration is lost, and it tumbles about as if in a state of intoxication. On the other hand, when the creature is undisturbed, the eye which receives the strongest impression propagates it to the common centre, and prevails upon the other eye to follow that impression and direct itself to the same object. The chameleon moreover may be asleep on one side and awake on the other. When cautiously approaching my specimen at night, with a candle, so as not to awaken the whole animal by the shaking of the room, the eye turned towards the flame would open and begin to move, and the corresponding .side to change colour, whereas the other side would remain for several seconds longer in its torpid and changeable state with its eye shut." (See ' Magazine of Natural History,' October, 1838, p. 632.) These views of Dr. Weissenborn are worth con- sideration; fuller details will be found in the work referred to. Fig. 2145 represents the Skull, in two views, of the Fork-nosed Chameleon (Chamseleon bifidus). A native of the continent of India, the Moluccas, Bourbon, and also of Australia. The top of the head is flat, the muzzle is prolonged into two distinct branches, which are compressed and den- telated along the upper and under margins. In its general manners this strange species agrees with the rest of its congeners, and we cannot imagine the end to be answered by the singular conforma- tion of the snout. Family GECKOTIDiE (GECKOS). Like the Chameleons, the Geckos form a distinct and very natural family. They are reptiles of small size, but of repulsive aspect and of nocturnal habits ; from the structure of the toes they are capable of running along the smoothest surfaces, up walls, and even, like a fly, of traversing ceilings; they lurk in the chinks and fissures of walls and trees, in holes and crannies, under the broad leaves of trees, and in some countries infest the habitations of man. They are universally distributed through every quarter of the globe, but are most numerous in the warmer climates of Asia. Two species are common in Southern Europe, and occur also in Northern Africa. The species are numerous. We have said that the aspect of these lizards is uncouth. The head is large and flat, the neck short, the body thick and depressed, without any dorsal ridge ; the limbs are short and stout, the toes are of almost equal length, flattened, and expanded beneath, and transversely laminated, or furnished with imbricated suckers, by means of which they adhere firmly in any position; and the claws are sharp, hooked, and retractile, like those of a cat. The eyes are large, full, and bright, generally with a narrow linear festooned pupil, which expands at night. The eyelids are little developed, while the eyes have a staring glance. The orifices of the ears are placed on the sides of the head, the tym- panic membrane being considerably below the sur- face, and the orifice bordered by two folds of skin. The tongue is large and fleshy, but slightly pro- tractile, and its free extremity is either notched or rounded. The teeth are small, equal, compressed, with cutting edges, and implanted in the internal aspect of the jaws. There are no palatal teeth ; the ' mouth is wide. The skin is granulated, and often beset with scattered tuberculous scales ; and the limbs, the sides of the body, and tail, are sometimes fringed with dentelated or vandyked membranes. In the males generally, and often in the females, there is a line of pores (femoral pores) on the in- side of each thigh, and across the lower part of the abdomen. The tail is variable in length, but never exceeds that of the body. The tints of these reptiles are mostly blended greys and browns ; but it would appear that, as in the chameleons, they are capable, to a certain ex- tent, of changing their hues, transient shades of blue, red, and yellow appearing and disappearing at the creature's will ; and, according to Wagler, certain Indian species become luminous or phos- phorescent during the night. From the flatness and flexibility of the body, these reptiles are ca- pable of insinuating themselves into the smallest crevices, and their sombre hues blending into and harmonizing with the shadowy obscurity in which they are, so to speak, enveloped during their hours of retirement, tend to their concealment. They off'er nothing to attract the eye, no movement, no brilliant colour. At night they come forth all alive in quest of in- sect prey, ever and anon uttering their clucking cry, whence the imitative name Gecko, and also Tociaie and Geitje. Their bright eyes glare ; they traverse craggy rocks, old walls, and the rough trunks of trees exploring every crevice: they lurk in ambush, and, dart from their concealment upon their victim ; they appear and vanish as if by magic ; we see them and the next moment they are gone. Confident in their powers, they boldly await approach, their eyes gleam, and their fixed gaze seems to bid defiance ; you raise your hand to strike or seize them ; where are they ? not a rustle was heard, not the slightest noise, and yet they have disappeared. Thus en- dowed, and of forbidding aspect, we can scarcely wonder at the aversion entertained towards these reptiles in the countries they tenant. They are re- garded as being extremely venomous, and it is be- lieved that even their touch occasions malignant disorders of the skin, while their saliva is most dreadfully noxious. "They are reported to ])oison viands of any kind over which they may crawl , render- ing such highly deleterious. It often happens that in these popular errors there is some degree of' truth. The toad, for example, is said to be venomous, and there is some degree of truth in the assertion. The cutaneous glands pour forth an irritating acrid se- cretion, and several times have we seen a dog seize one of these creatures, but instantly drop it, and retreat shaking his head, while the foam filled his mouth and ran down the jaws, his distress lasting for hair an hour; a favourite spaniel of ours was once served this trick, but nothing would induce him afterwards to approach such " varmint," though he would kill a rat in an instant. So it is with these calumniated geckos ; their sharp clinging claws, and the suction of their toe- pads, acting like little air-pumps, will really produce redness on a delicate skin, and it is not unlikely that an irritating secretion may contribute to this, besides combining with the slight puncture of the claws and the suction of the pads to produce marks for some time permanent : this is the key-note to the strain of the horrible which runs current. Like many other lizards, our own pretty little common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) for instance, the geckos have the singular power of reproducing their tail when lost by accident. The tail, indeed, is very brittle, and when broken off it is soon re- newed, but a swelling marks the line where the re- produced member commences ; many such examples in the different species of gecko have come under our personal notice. The Gecko, or rather one species, was well known to the ancients, and it is generally admitted that it was the lizard described by Aristotle under the name of Ascalabus or Ascalabotes (a«-«i a'ort.; 2185. — Skeleton of Fringed Dragon. 810".— Spiue-footed Stollic. V'' 3.6«.^(%inicaled fielodenna. ai8t.— Terfulxhj. 21T3.— Scales of Head of the above. 2T82.— Head of a True lizard. \ V- tlK, — Lower Jaw of Lizard ; Fossil. 2185— Group cf Liianij. aiS«.-8«id-Luad. 2180.— Head of Tegiiixiu. £188.— Viriparojs Llzarils. 93 94 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Lizards. of that animal, txith young and adult. It swims admirably, and causes great destruction among the younij crocodiles, which can only escape by taking refuge under the adults of their own species. It aiso searches for the eggs of that reptile, devouring them like the ichneumon. The length of the Varan of the Nile is between five and six feet ; its general colour is greenish grey mottled with black ; four or five horseshoe marks of yellow in succession are on the back of the neck, and seven or eight rows of spoU, of a greenish-yellow tint, extend from the shoulders to the root of the tail ; a black stripe runs before each shoulder. The fii-st half of the tail is banded with black, the re- mainder ringed with greenish yellow. Fig. 2170 exhibits — a, the Skull of this species seen from above ; b, the Under Jaw. 2177. — Brix's Varan (Vartnua Bdlii). This beautiful varan is a native of New Holland, and one of the aquatic tribe : it is agreeably parti-coloured ; deep black and pale yel- low or whitish. It is a large species, and agrees in habits with the rest of its race. 2178. — The Rough-scaled Heloderma (Heloderma horridicm). In the genus Heloderma the scales are not encircled by a ring of granules ; the tail is rounded ; and the fifth toe of the hind- foot is on the same line at its origin as the rest. The disposition of the scales of the head is exhibited at Fig. 2179. One species only is known, a native of Mexico, where there is a general but erroneoiis belief that its bite is fatal. The general colour of this species is of a blackish brown above, paler below ; there are red marks on the neck and back, dotted with yellowish or whitish ; the tail is ringed with reddish. Length about three feet. Family TEID/E (TEGUIXINS). This family is exclusively American, and contains those large lizards known as safeguards, monitors, &c., from an idea that they gave warning by a hiss of the proximity of the alligator, and the same has been supposed, but erroneously, respecting the varans. The tongue in these Teidae is long, extensible, forked, and with a basal sheath, into which it is re- tracted. No palatal teeth. Tympanic membrane on a level with the skin. Back covered with small angular, smooth, but not imbricated scales, disposed in transverse bands. Ventral plates flat, smooth, and oblong. Skin of the lower part of the neck disposed in two or three simple transverse folds. Head covered with large plates. Femoral pores present. Tail long, and slightly compressed. Fig. 2180 displays Head of the Teguixin or " Sauvegarde." These lizards are natives of the warmer portions of America, inhabiting fields, thickets, and the bor- ders of woods, as well as sandy arid plains and sterile spots, where they are said to form deep bur- rows, in which they hybernate. According to MM. Dum^ril and Bibron, they are not arboreal, never ascending trees. Azara states that, when pur- sued, should they meet with a lake, pond, or river, they throw themselves into the water, in order to escape the danger which threatens them, and do not emerge till all cause for fear is over. These animals however, as MM. Dumdril and Bibron ob- serve, have not the toes webbed, but their long tail, slightly as it is compressed, becomes without doubt, under such circumstances, a sort of oar, of which they readily avail themselves. It is said by Azara that these lizards feed on fruits and insects, and that they also eat snakes, toads, young chickens, and eggs. He moreover relates that they are partial to honey, and that, in order to procure it without being injured by the bees, they have recourse to artifice, advancing at intervals to the hive, which they strike with their tail, and rapidly dart away, till at last, wearied out by repetitions of the annoyance, the in- dustrious inhabitants quit the hive. We cannot help confessing that we have some feelings of doubt as to the correctness of this account. M. Bibron observes that he has never been able to satisfy himself as to the frugivorous habits of the sauvegardes, but that they feed on insects is fully proved from the stomachs of those opened being found to contain their remains ; and on one occasion, amidst the debris of coleoptera, and the shrivelled relics of caterpillars, were found strips of the skin and portions of the bones of a well-known species of lizard, the common ameiva. The sauvegardes often exceed four feet in length ; and are strong and active, and have an imposing aspect. 2181.— The Teguixix (Teguixin monitor, Gray). Variegated Lizard, Shaw ; Great American Safeguard, Griffiths, Cu- vier ; Lacerta Teguixin, Linn. ; Tupinambis monitor. Daudin ; Teius monitor, Merrem ; Podinema Te- guixin, Wagler; Salvator Merianae, Dumdril and Bibron. This species is spread over the warmer parts of South America and the Antilles, and was faithfully figured by Madame Merian, botli in its young and adult condition ; and also by Seba and Spix, and more recently by Prince Maximilien de Wied. When fully grown it measures nearly five feet in length, and is active and vigorous. Azara says that when, in order to escape danger, it plunges into the water, it does not swim, but walks along the bottom ; we rather suspect, however, that it dives and re- I mains motionless at the bottom, or under the cover of aijuatic plants, being enabled, from the structure of its voluminous lungs, to endure for a considerable time without the necessity of respiration. It de- fends itself when captured with great resolution, and will bite severely, retaining its hold with in- flexible obstinacy, and the same observation applies to it when it has seized- its prey. Its flesh is ac- counted excellent, and Azara says that rings of skin stripped from its tail are worn as preventives against paralysis, from a belief in their efficacy, and that it IS considered useful in removing tumours. The colouring of this species is somewhat variable ; generally, however, the ground-colour of the upper parts is black, often deep black, on which some- times small and irregular spots of a rich yellow, sometimes large regular spots, are disposed so as to produce transverse bands. Generally a stripe runs on each side from the occiput to the root of the tail. Under parts yellow marked with black bands. Family LACERTID^ (TRUE LIZARDS). Bright-eyed, active, and of slender figure, often adorned with brilliant colours, the true lizards have nothing repulsive in their aspect or manners. • These reptiles are covered above by small imbri- cated scales ; a minute plate of bone protects the orbits above the eyes ; the lop of the head and the temples are covered with plates or scuta ; the scales I of the tail are long and narrow, and disposed in rings around it ; the tongue is long and forked, the 1 under parts are covered with plates ; and a distinct j collar of scales, larger than those of the throat, I passes across the lower part of the same, anterior to the base of the fore-limbs. A row of pores runs down the inside of each thigh. There are generally small teeth on the palate. Fig. 2182 represents the Head of a True Lizard, as an example of the arrangement of the jjlates. j 2183. — The Viviparous Lizard (2^ootoca vivipara). Lacerta agilis of various authors ; I Nimble Lizard ; Common Lizard. j In the genus Zootoca there are no palatal teeth, ' and the females produce their young alive. [ Thickets, heaths sunny banks, and sheltered orchards are the favourite localities of this little j lizard, which in all its actions is graceful, prompt, | and rapid. In certain spots they seem to abound. We have often, while walking, in the heat of a ' summer's day, along a sunny bank covered with furze, counted more than a dozen within the space of a few yards, basking in the rays, and probably watching for their insect food. We have caught them, by cautiously surprising and rapidly seizing them, but several, notwithstanding all our address, have we missed, and one has occasionally left its tail wriggling in our hand, though we used not the slightest violence, nor ever attempted to retain our hold ; it snapped, in fact, like glass, at the slightest touch. It is astonishing to see how rapidly, when alarmed, these agile little creatures gain their burrows, or disappear from view, diving beneath the intertangled vegetation ; they seem gone in the twinkling of an eye. No less prompt and rapid are they in catching their prey ; the moment an insect comes near them, or settles on a leaf within due distance, their bright eyes mark it ; the next instant it is seized and swallowed : the act is won- derfully quick and instantaneous. The sight of these animals is indeed very acute ; and their hear- ing appears also to be by no means deficient ; we have seen them on the slightest noise, on the snapping of a branch, or a rustle made among the leaves, dart off to their burrows, and after a little time cautiously make their reappearance, and on the least alarm again seek refuge in their retreats. Unlike most lizards, which produce eggs covered by membrane, and which they deposit in the sand or in other places, to be hatched by the warmth of the sun, the present species brings forth living young, the eggs being hatched while yet within the body of the parent. This species is therefore ovo- viviparous. The membrane covering the eges is very thin, and the female in the month of June passes a great portion of the day basking in the sun, for the sake of the vivifying heat, as necessary for the exclusion of the young from the eggs as if they had been previously deposited in the sand. It is very remarkable that one out of our two true ; lizards should be thus ovoviviparous, and one out of ; our two true snakes, viz., the viper, which brings forth living youn?, and basks in the tun that the same object may be accomplished. The number of young which the viviparous lizard produces is four or five, and they are occasionally seen in company with their parent, but whether they are united together by any instinctive attach- ment is doubtful ; the probability is that they keep about the spot where they were bom, and where the parent has her burrow, and remove by degrees as they increase in size and strength, for from their birth they are capable of running about, and soon begin to exercise their powers in the capture of prey. During the winter this, as well as the other British lizard, hybemates, but whether its torpidity is ver)- profound is not ascertained : it appears early in the spring, and continues active till au- tumn has far advanced, when it betakes itself to its burrow. This species, and also the sand-lizard, are found in Ireland ; with respect to the former, Mr. Bell remarks that on the Continent its range does not appear to be extensive : " It is not," he adds, " found in Italy, nor, 1 believe, in France, and is very probably confined in a great measure to our own latitude." M. Bibron, however, assures us that it exists both in France and Italy, and that it inhabits Germany, Switzerland, and Russia, as well as the British Islands, preferring mountain districts ; and he adds, " M. Tschudi, informs us that in Switzerland it frequents, in preference, the forests of dry pines, making its runs under the fallen leaves, and to these it retreats on the appearance of danger. Sometimes, however, it is met with in damp and humid forests. In France it is not so common as the sand-lizaid, while in England it is the contrary." The average length of the viviparous lizard is six inches ; its colour and markings are subject to va- riation; in general the upper parts are of an olive- brown, with a dark brown and often interrupted line down the middle of the back, and a broad longitu- dinal band down each side, between which and the middle line are blaci: dashes or spots. In the male the under parts are of a fine orange spotted with black ; in the female pale olive-grey. 2184.— The Saxd-Lizard {Lacerta agilis, Linn.). Lacerta Stirpium, Daudin. This species, an example of the rellricted genus Lacerta, is much larger than the viviparous lizard, sometimes measuring a foot in length ; we have seen specimens upwards of seven inches long, and in the ' Linnaean Transactions' an instance is ad- duced by the Rev. R. Sheppard, in which the measurement exceeded twelve inches (vol. xvi., 1802). It is to the labours of several modern naturalists that we owe the extrication of this lizard from much confusion, for the term agilis, applied by Linnaeus to the present species, has been given in England to the viviparous lizard, and in France and Italy to the wall-lizard, the common lizard of those countries. The sand-lizard is subject to much variation of colour; indeed, two varieties appear to exist : one, and that the most common, of a sandy brown colour, more or less rich, with obscure longitudinal stripes of a darker tint, and a lateral series of black ocellated spots, each with a white or yellowish dot in the centre ; the other variety has the uppei parts of a brownish green, the green being more or less decided, with the same general markings. 'Ihe ordinary residence of this species is sandy heaths, and, though less rapid in its actions than the viviparous, it is quick and active, and runs with considerable alertness; occasionally it may be seen basking on sunny banks and in verdant spots, and has been observed also near marshes. According to Mr. Bell, it occurs in the neighbourhood of Poole both on sandy heaths and in moist situations, and that able naturalist adds, " It has been stated, by a gentleman of my acquaintance, that the brown varieties are confined to the sandy heaths, the colours of which are closely imitated by the surface of the body, and that the green variety frequents the more verdant localities. Be this as it may, and it is a statement which at present I can neither con- firm nor dispute, it is certain that these varieties mentioned by Linnaeus, and seen by Miiller, do exist in the place I have named, and within a com- paratively short distance." The sand-lizard is com- mon in France, but rare in Italy ; it is abundant in the middle districts of Europe, and extends as far north as Sweden and Denmark. It is found in Ireland. According to M. Bibron, it inhabits the plains and hills, but never the mountains, of the Continent, and gives preference to the margin of woods, copses, large gardens, and vineyards. Its retreat is a burrow varying in depth, worked < ut under a malted collection of herbage, or between Snakes.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. the roots of a tree; in this burrow it hybernates, having closed the entrance with earth and dried' leaves, and does not reappear till the warm weather has returned. It feeds on insects. On a transient glance of this species running along, it might be easily mistaken for the viper, as Mr. Shep- pard says it was by himself, its length and the ar- rangement of the colours favouring tlie deception ; its movements, indeed, are serpentine ; if seized whilst thus endeavouring to escape, it will turn and bite, and when captured is impatient of coniine- ment, avoids observation, and ultimately dies. It is indeed extremely timid, and, unlike the beautiful green lizard (Lacerta viridis) of southern Europe, never can be rendered familiar. The sand-lizard deposits its eggs, to the number of fourteen or fifteen, in hollows in the sand, which it excavates for their reception, and then carefully covers them up, leaving them to be hatched by the rays of the sim. The young, on exclusion from the es:f^, are active, and lead at once an independent existence. Fig. 2185 exhibit — a, the Viviparous Lizard ; i, the Sand Lizard ; c, the Blindworm (Anguis fra- •gilis), of which we shall speak hereafter. Fig. ■ 2186 exhibits the fragment of the lower jaw of a lacertine reptile, from the lower chalk near Cam- ■ bridge. We have alluded to the beautiful green lizard, which is often brought over to England by Italians for show or sale, and kept in cages. This species is a native of France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and the Mediterranean borders of Africa. It is said also to occur in the island of Guernsey, but it exists neither in England nor Ireland. Orchards, large gardens, shrubberies, brakes, and thickets, are the haunts of this lizard, and, though it cannot be called arboreal, it climbs the stems of bushes with great facility in quest of insect food. It is quick and active in its movements, and darts rapidly on its prey. In cap- tivity it soon becomes very tame, and will take flies from those with whom it is familiar, and permit itself to be handled without attempting to bite. It is usually kept in a cage, having an inner compart- ment filled with moss or dried bran, in which it buries itself, and will remain in a state of hyberna- tion during the winter. This lizard should be pro- tected from sudden changes of weather, for it is very sensitive, and does not well endure cold ; it delights to bask in the genial rays of the sun, while its bur- nished skin glitters with metallic brilliancy. From its beauty and utility in the destmction of insects, it might be kept with advantage in vineries or green- houses. The general colour of this elegant little species is a 'rich metallic green, fading into a paler or yellowish tint on the under parts ; the back and head are sometimes minutely freckled with black, occasionally with yellow, and a blue tinge not unfrequently pervades the head. A larger species, attaining to sixteen inches or more in length, also remarkable for the beauty of its colouring, is a native of the southern provinces of Europe and the north of Africa. It is the Eyed Lizard (Lacerta ocellata), so called from being orna- mented with round spots of gold and blue, and with rings and irregular markings of black on a bright- green ground. In its actions it is extremely prompt and rapid, and as it darts along its colours glisten with metallic lustre in the sun. When driven to act upon the defensive, it manifests great spirit, attack- ing its assailant with determined resolution ; and when it fastens on the muzzle of a dog, it will suffer itself to be killed before it will let go its hold. It makes deep burrows at the roots of trees, under hedges, and in vineyards sloping to the sun, always preferring a south or south-east aspect. Frequently it excavates a deep retreat in layers of sand or other material easily worked, separating two beds of hard calcareous rock. Like all the true lizards, this species is quick-eyed and wary, and disappears within its burrow with wonderful celerity. 2187. — The Six-Lined Taciitdbomus (Tachi/dromus sex-linealus, Daudin). The genus Tachydromus, which contains only two species as yet known, is distinguished by the peculiar form of the papillae of the tongue, which resemble folds having the figure of chevrons enclosed one within the other with the summit directed forwards ; the ! head is pyramidally quadrangular, the figure slender, ( and the tail of extraordinary length, far exceeding j in proportion that of any other true lizard. The j tongue is not sheathed at the base ; it is moderately I extensible, and divided at the tip into two flattened < filaments. The throat collar is squamous, dente- i lated, and not very definite. The under parts are covered with imbricated scales, smooth or keeled. The present species is a native of China, Cochin China, and Java: it is rapid, active, and serpentine in its movements, with the general habits of the lacertine group. The general colour above is olive, and on each side of the back, from the angle of the 95 occiput to the base of the tail, runs a beautiful white stripe between two lines of black ; those parts of the sides of the neck and body which are granulated are prettily sprinkled with small black dots, each with a white centre ; the other regions of the sides of the neck and trunk are of a bluish tint with golden re- flexions. A line of black runs between the nostril and the eye, and two others of the same colour, separated by a white stripe, extend longitudinally on the temple. The under parts altogether of the head and body are of a pure mother-oi-pearl white. The tail is sometimes simply olive ; sometimes it presents the colour of burnished copper or of gold with a brilliant lustre: Length about a foot, of which the tail measures three-fourths. (See Dume- ril and Bibron, 'Hist. Nat. des Rept.') 2188.— The Ophiops (Ophiops elegans). The principal character of the genus Ophiops, of which we know at present only one species, consists in the absence of eyelids. The tongue is arrow-headed in shape, moderately long, notched at the end, and covered with imbricated squamiform papilla;. There is no scaly collar under the neck; the ventral laraellas are quadrilateral; there are femoral pores; the toes are carinated be- low. Fig. 2189 represents— a, the Head of Ophiops, in profile ; b, as seen from above, showing the ar- rangement of the plates; c, the throat and lower jaw ; d, the lower part of the under surface, showing the form of the ventral scales, and the line of pores along each thigh ; e, the under surface of one of the posterior toes. The Ophiops is a beautiful active little lizard, of slender figure, found in south-eastern Europe,- and the adjacent parts of Asia. Specimens have been brought from Smyrna, and others from the environs ofBakou. Its general colouraboveisolive or bronze, and two pale yellow lines run along each side of the trunk, separated by two series of black spots, which in young individuals are small and distinct, but blend more together in adults. All the under parts are white. Family CHALCID^ (CHALCIS, SAUROPHIS, SCHELTOPUSIC, &c.). The Chalcidae, or " Cyclosaures " of Dume'ril and Bibron, comprise a series of forms presenting us with a gradual approximation, in external charac- ters at least, to the serpents. Some of them indeed, as Pseudopus and Ophisaurus, Cuvier places in his first section of the Ophidia, or Snakes; and the Amphisbaena at the commencement of the " Vrais Serpents." Following the arrangement of MM. Dumfiril and Bibron, now generally adopted, at least as far as the principles go, we shall give the cha- racters, as detailed by them, by which the family of the Chalcida; are distinguished. The body is usu- ally cylindrical, extremely elongated or snake-like, sometimes destitute of limbs, and mostly with the limbs only little developed: there is in general no distinct neck between the head and trunk, which latter imperceptibly merges into the tail. The skin exhibits traces of rings or of verticellations, and in most there is a fold of skin between the belly and sides ; the head is covered with scutcheons or poly- gonal plates : the teeth are not implanted into the maxillary bones, but afiixed to their internal mar- gin ; the tongue is free, but slightly extensile, broad, and covered with filiform or with scale-like papillse ; it is notched at the point, and not retracted within a sheath. The group thus characterized is divided into Ptychopleura, which, besides being scaled, are dis- tinguished by a lateral fold of skin, and into Glyp- toderma* with the skin apparently naked, divided into square or card-like divisions in regular order, and marked with circles at regular intervals ; the skin of each card-like division is of a peculiar firm texture, as if tubercular. The eyes, moreover, are destitute of eyelids. Among the Ptychopleura one genus only is en- tirely destitute of limbs, namely, Ophisaurus, which would be a serpent were it not that there are true eyelids and an auditory orifice, while the jaws are consolidated, and the tongue not sheathed. In the genus Pseudopus there are only the rudi- ments of the hind-limbs. In Gerrhosaus, Trilobo- notus, &c., the limbs are well developed, and there are femoral pores. These are lacertine in their aspect. To the Glyptoderma belong the Chirotes, a snake- like reptile with only anterior limbs, a native of Mexico, the Amphisbaenas, and the allied genus Lepidosternon, and Trogonophes, in which the teeth, as an exception, are implanted in the trenchant ridge of these. These are all destitute of limbs. We shall first attend to our examples of the Ptychopleura. * Glyptoderma, from 7XtmToy, sculptured, and 5epjua, akin ; Ptychopleura, from irrvf, wrvxos, a fold, and ir> '"po, the side. 2190, 2191.-THE FouB-TOED Snake-Lizabd (Saurop/us tetradactylus). In this snake-like lizard ttiere are four minute limbs, which are furnished each with four toes ; there are femoral pores • the head is covered above with plates ; the scales of the upper surface are striated, with a small keel in the middle of each ; there are six longitudinal series of ventral lamellae ; a fold runs along each side. This singularreptile is a native of the southern districts of Africa; its movemente, as might be in- terred from its figure, are completely serpent-like, but of Its habits little is known. The top of the head is yellow, sprinkled with Drown ; all the scales of the upper parts are yellow with a posterior margin of brown ; the sides of the mouth are white ; two black square spots are be- low the eye and two before the ear. Under parts whitish With the two figures are shown enlarged views of the head and limbs. . 2192. — The Angui.ve Lizard CChamcBsaura anguina). In the present genus the limbs are still more reduced, and are mere stylets, terminating in a single toe. The body is covered with rhomboidal, carinated, and imbricated scales producing a coarse rasp-like surface. The head is covered above with plates. This reptile is a native ot southern Africa, and has been brought from the Cape of Good Hope. The general colour above is brown, with a narrow streak of yellow down the middle line, spreading over the sides, where it be- comes paler, and also over the under surface of the body. 2193.— The Schei.toplsic {Pseudopus Pallasii). The transition from the previous reptiles, with limbs imperfect and scarcely developed, to the present genus, in which there are no fore-limbs, and the hind-limbs are mere minute scaly appendages, is very easy. We have here a completely snake-like body, which is serpentine in all its movements ; there are indeed the rudiments of pelvic bones, as seen at Fig. 2194 ; a a, showing the rudiments of the hinder extremities. In this genus the tongue is thin and like an arrow- head, bifid at the point, and covered both with villous and also with large notched papillae. The teeth are strong, and the palate is lurnished with them also, but they are there of small size. A deep furrow runs down each side of the body. The eye- lids are perfect. The Scheltopusic, which was first described by Pallas under the title of Lacerta apoda, measures about eighteen inches in length, and is of a reddish chestnut colour dotted with black. The iris is gold- en green, the pupil black. The young are greyish above with cross-marks of brown, whitish grey below. This serpent-like lizard is a native of northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean, of the Morea, Dalmatia, and southern Siberia. Scheltopusic is the name given to it by the natives of the desert of Naryn near the Volga. Its favourite haunts are wooded valleys, and places covered with brushwood and thick vegetation, affording it secure conceal- nient. It feeds on insects, small lizards, nestling birds, and chases its prey like a snake, darting along in a series of sinuous flexures. When alarmed it instantly plunges beneath the dense brushwood and is lost. This species was found to be common in the Peloponnesus by the party conducting the ' Voy- age Scientifique en Moiee.' The first discovered was observed basking in the rays of the vernal sun, and had evidently but lately emerged from its winter retreat. It was instantly attacked and killed, but great was the surprise of its destroyers, who supposed it to be venomous, when they found it destitute of poison-fangs. Subsequently many individuals were caught alive, and kept in rooms, where they soon became recon- ciled to the captivity, evincing a quiet inoffensive disposition. They were fed upon hard-boiled eggs ; but on one occasion a captive .scheltopusic got ac- cess to a nest of young birds, which it quickly de- molished, doubtless with considerable relish. 2195. — The Glass-Snake (Ophisaurus ventralis). In this reptile we have not even the rudiment of limbs, but from the points already referred to, namely, the presence of eye- lids, the consolidation of the lower jaw, the auditory orifice, and the unsheathed tongue, snake-like as it is, it does not belong to the Ophidia. There are several rows of palatal teeth. The maxillary teeth are simple. The name of Glassy Snake (Glassy Fragile, Pen- nant) has been given to this reptile from its ex- treme brittleness, the slightest touch causing it to snap asunder. It is a native of Carolina and the southern provinces of North America, and its man- ners closely resemble those of the scheltopusic. It frequent spots abounding in vegetation, and feeds on insects, small reptiles, frogs, &c. According to aifcS.— Optiiop*. i;ii5.— Gl»«-8ti«lte. ^IM.— Asgaine liianU S\96.— Heads of Gla»8iu]M, 2190.— Fooi-toed Snake-Lizud. 3193.— Schgltopiuie. S19<.— Pelis of Scheltop««ic. S191.- FooMotd Snake-Liiaid. 06 2196.— Dusky Amphisbenw. 2310.— Common Zonunis. JSOS.^Officinal Scink. ^06.— Common Sep*. '2201.— Officinal Sdsk. £207.— Slow worm. S2ni, — Habon ju. No. 63. Vol. II. 3t09.— Hewl of AamUu. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] S:08 Painted Acontlts. 97 98 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [SCINKS. Catesbv it appears earlier in the *prinsf tlian any of | the snake-tribe, and is numerou* in sandy woods. j Fig. 219C represents two heads of this reptile, n | and b, of which the latter is depicted with the sin- gularly-fornied tongue tx\>o»ed. The glass snake is subject to considerable varia- tions of colour ; M. Bibron enumerates four varie- ties ; the first is marked above with alternate longitudinal lines of black and yellowish, the under parts being white. The second has the scales of the sides and neck black ; those of the upper surface and tail brown, w ith a spot of black, and a streak of greenish yellow. The head is marbled with yellow on a black ground. Under jiarts white. The third is chestnut with white spots, almost en- tirely encircled by black, generally arranged in trans- verse bands ; the sides are mostly black, the edges of each scale being more or less spotted with whitish or reddish. Under parts pale orange. The fourth is of a yellowish grey above, with a broad black median line from the back of the head to the end of the tail ; while on the sides five more slender black lines alternate with white. Sides of the head and neck are mottled with white and black. Ctttesby de.scribes the colouring as yellowish preen, spotted with black above. The tail is longer than the body, and the head is very small. " A small blow with a stick," he observes, "will cause the Jjody to separate not only at the place struck, i)ut al two or three other places also ; the muscles being aitieulated in a singular manner quite through ihe vertebr*." We shall now turn to the section Glyptoderma, the general distinguishing characters of which we have already detailed. We may here add that the mode in which the teelh are implanted varies in this group. In most they are affixed by the side to the internal face of the maxillary bones; in others they are fixed on the ridge or summit of the bones, as in the genus Trogonophis. 2197. — The Channelled Chirotes (Chiroles cnnaUculatus). Lacerta lumbricoides, Shaw ; Chamiesaura propus, Schneider ; Bimanus propus, Oppel ; Bipes eanaliculatus, Bonnat. These singular animals, says M. Bibron, would be Amphisbaenas, were they not provided with a sternum and two fore limbs— the only differences, in fact, by which the genera are distinguished : the body is nearly cylindrical, being somewhat flattened j on Its under surface ; the head is of the same cir- i cumference, the former having the muzzle and borders of the mouth covered with plates, the only portions of the animal where the skin is not marked [ by depressions, dividing it into little quadrilateral 1 compartments disposed in rings. The fore limbs, which alone exist, are placed at a short distance behind the head, and spring from the under surface of the neck ; they are short, moderately robust, and ter- minated by five toes, of which four are well deve- loped, and armed with robust, curved, and pointed claws ; the fifth is a simple scaly tubercle, destitute of a nail. Along the body, on each side, is a sort of suture descending from the shoulder to the origin of the tail ; at the lower part of the abdomen is a row of small pores. The teeth are strong, conical, simple, and slightly curved backwards; the nostrils are lateral ; the eye is very small ; the muzzle arched ; the tongue horny al the tip, and but little extensile. This singular reptile is a native of Mexico, and measures eight or ten inches in length. The colour of the upper surface is yellow, each little square compartment having a mark of chestnut ; the under parts are vihitc. It was first described by Lacepede under the title " Le Canneld." With respect to its habits, they are most probably subterranean, like those of the Amphisbsena ; but on these points nothing appears to be definitely known. Fig. 2197 is accompanied by a delineation in outline of the Head and one of the Paws. There are no eyelids. 2198.— The Dcskt Amphisb.«na (Amphlsbama fiiliffinosa). The genus Amphisbsena diffei-s from Chirotes principally in the absence of limbs; the head aud body are of uniform thickness, and the tail terminates bluntly; so that at a first glance it is not very easy to distinguish between the head and tail, more especially as the minute eyes are buried, and only to be detected through the horny plate that covers them, as little black dots, in which neither iris nor pupil is perceptible. In some species, where the plates are more thick, they are scarcely to be observed. It is from this similarity of the head and tail that the natives of South Amej ica considered this reptile to have two heads, one at each extremity ; and that if it was cut in two, so far from being killed, each distinct portion would con- tinue to live, and that the two heads would mutually seek each other, and the bodies become reunited as if nothing had happened. Stedraan, in his ' History of Surinam,' says, •• Another snake which I observed here is about three feet long, and unnulated with diflerent colours. It is called Amphisbaena, from the supposition of its having two heads : and the truth is, from its cylindrical form the head and tail so much resemble each other that the error is almost pardonable ; besides which the eyes are nearly im- perceptible. This is the snake which, supposed blind, and vulgarly said to be fed by the large ants (ter- mites), is in this country honoured with the name of King of the Kmmets. The flesh of the Amphis- bsena, dried and reduced to a tine powder, is con- fidently administered as a sovereign and infallible remedy in all cases of dislocation and broken bones ; it being very naturally inferred that an animal which has the power of healing an entire amputation in its own case should at least be able to cure a simple fracture in the case of another." AVe may here observe that the term Apiphisbsena («/*?''», utrinque ; ^/w, incedo), though the animal has not two heads, is correct, as it is capable of crawling with the head or tail foremost with equal facility. The head of the amphisbaena is blunt and short, and the muzzle resembles a small arched beak : sometimes it is rounded ; it is covered with plates ; the skin generally is divided into quadrilateral com- partments disposed in circles round the body ; and in some species a furrow runs down the middle of the back, and also along each side. At the lower part of the abdomen is a range of pores. The specimens of amphisbaena which we have seen alive were dull and inanimate, with no grace or activity in their movements; they crawled slowly about, and, when handled, languidly twisted their bodies and opened their mouths, but made no attempt to bile ; their appearance was far from being attractive. One of these animals, kept alive some time since in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, took milk very freely, and subsisted on it for six months. The Dusky Amphisbaena is a native of Brazil and Cayenne, where it bores in the soft earth like a worm, working its way with considerable despatch ; it is harmless and inofiensive, living principally on ants and their larvae and termites, and is often found in the mounds raised by these insects, or in their subterranean habitations. It measures nearly two feet in length, and the eyes are apparent as black dots. Its general colour is dusky brown. MM. Dumeiil and Bibron enumerate ten species ij of amphisbaena, of which one is a native of Guinea, and one of North Africa, Spain, and Portugal ; the rest are American. Besides, there are three species separated into a genus termed Lepidosternon, also natives of South America. Family SCINCID.E (SCINKS or SKINKS). The present family, " Les Lcpidosaures " of Du- nieril and Bibron, presents us with characters dis- tinct from those of our last ; but through a series of forms it also conducts us to the serpents, the body becoming snake-like, and the limbs disappearing, till at length they are lost. The transition forms from the more typical genera are Evesia, in which the limbs are reduced to little footless appendages ; one species is known, a native of India — Scelotes, in which there are no anterior limbs, and the pos- terior are divided into two small toes ; one species (Sc. Linnaei, Bibron ; Anguis bipes, Linn.) is known ; it is a native of South Africa; Hysteropus (Bipes, Cuv.), presenting us with one species, of snake-like lorm, ii native of New Holland ; it has two nidi- mentary posterior limbs, in the shape of little flat appendages. In the Pygopus Cariococca, a snake- like reptile of South America, there are only rudi- mentary hinder limbs as in the preceding — minute flattened appendages. We then come to the genera Anguis (Blindworm), Acontias, and Typhlops, in which the limbs have disappeared, and the figure is serpentiform. To the general character of the Sauria the Family Scincidae adds many peculiari- ties. The head is covered with large plates, of an angular figure, with the edges fitting together ; the body, generally, is clad in scales of variable size and form, resembling a coat of mail, and arranged in quincuncial order, and overlapping each other like the pointed or rounded tiles of a roof; or like those- of a carp, or of other osseous fishes. The tongue is free, fleshy, rather flat, notched at the tip, and covered by scaly papillae : the abdomen is cy- lindiical, without lateral folds, and clad with scales usually arranged in the same manner as those of the back. There is little or no distinction between the neck and body. We may here observe, with respect to the large angular plates of the head, that they do not occur in the Chameleons, the Geckos, Iguanas, or Varans, but are met with in the Teidae, the true lizards, and the Chalcidae ; but, then, in the Teidae and true lizards, the scales of the under parts are arranged ditferently to those of the back ; and in the Chalcidae, the scales are not only disposed so as to form circles or transverse bands, but a lateral fold is carried from the head to the origin of the tail. Tlie limbs in the Scincida-, when present, are short, and generally the whole surface of the scaling is smooth and polished. This group is found in the most arid districts of the hot and temperate regions of every portion of the globe : Europe, indeed, pos- sesses but a limited number of species, which, be it observed, are not restricted in their geographical range to that quarter of the globe, but are far more widely distributed. The greatest number belong to Australia and the Polynesian Islands. We may now direct our attention to some of the forms of this ex- tensive family. 2199. — The Cochin-Chixa Tropidophowts {Tropidophorus CociticmensU, Bibr.). Leposoma Cocincinensis, Cuv. ; Tropidosaurus monfanus. Gray. In the genus Tropidophorusthe tongue is notched and squamous; the teeth are simple and cylindrical, none are palatal ; the auditory orifices are closed by a tympanic membrane; the feet are all five-toed, and armed with slightly-compressed claws; the tail is compressed and keeled; the scales of the upper parts are lozenge-shaped, each having a raised median carination, prolonged into a point behind. The species figured is a native of Cochin-China. Its general colour above is yellowish brown, with a tinge of olive, crossed with deep brown bars in the form of the letter X, in succession. The tail is spotted : the flanks present a row of white dots ; under parts white. I>etter a, represents the head viewed from above ; b, the head in profile, with the mouth open to show the tongue. 2201, 2202.— The Ofhcinal Scink (Scinais officinalis). El Adda of Bruce ; Skink, Shaw's Barbary., i'lyyh or 2«iy«( of the Greeks. In the genu's Seincus the tongue is notched and scaly ; the teeth are conical, simple, and blunt ; there are teeth on the palate, which is longitudinally grooved ; auditory orifices operculated ; muzzle wedge-shaped ; limbs four, with five toes on each ; tail conical and pointed ; general scaling smooth, glossy, and fish-like. The officinal Scink, of which there arc three or four varieties, is a native of Arabia, Northern Africa, Egypt, Syria, and Abyssinia. It occurs also ia Senegal. In the IGth century this lizard was generally be- lieved to be endowed with wonderful medicinal vir- tues, and consequently was an object of commerce ; it was one of the most approved remedies in eases of debility, and was regarded as an infallible renovator of a shattered constitution. This supposition is of very ancient date ; for Pliny states that these Scinci were imported into Rome in a salted state (asBelon says they were in his time, 1551), and that their heads and feet were taken in white wine. He also cites Apelles as an authority for their efiicacy in the case of wounds inflicted by poisoned arrows. We need not say that this lizard no longer maintains a place among the articles of the materia medica. Indeed, in Egypt and Arabia its reputation is gone. M. Alexandre Lefebvre, who collected, says M. Bibron, a number of individuals of this species during an excursion in 1828 into the oasis of Bahrieh. informs us that this lizard " is met with on the hillocks of fine light sand which the south wind accumulates at the foot of the hedges which border the cultivated lands, and of the tamarisks which strive to vegetate on the confines of the desert. There it may be seen tranquilly basking in the rays of a burning sun, cr cha-sing from time to time the Graphypteri, or other coleopterous insects which pass within its range. It mns with considerable quickness, and when me- naced buries itself in the sand with singular ra- pidity, excavating in a few instants a burrow of many feet in depth. When taken it endeavours to escape, but beyond this neither attempts to bite, nor to defend itself with its claws." In all specimens of this reptile the lower and lateral parts of the head, body, and tail are silvery white, more or less pure. The upper surface varies in markings. M. Bibron enumerates the following: Var. «.— General colour of the neck, back, and tail, yellow, or clear silveiy grey, mixed with brown or blackish, which forms great spots dilated trans- versely, most frequently putting on the shape of transverse bands, the number of which is commonly seven or eight. Var. b. — A yellow tint spread over the surface of the cranium. Neck, back, and a great part of the tail chestnut-brown, sprinkled with very small obscure whitish spots, two or three on each scale. Across the back five or six large white bands, with an irregularly-dilated black spot at each of their extremities. These spots are not situated on the back, but on the most elevated part of the lateral regions of the trunk. Vnr. c. — All the scales of the neck, back, and first half of the upper surface of the tail silvery grey, widely radiated with white, with one or two brown spots on the posterior border of the radiations. SCINKS.] MUSEU3I OF ANIMATED NATURE. In Fig. 2202, a exhibits the fore-foot of this rep- tile seen from above. 2203. — The Capisteated Sphenops (^Sphenops capistratus). Head of. We fi2;me only the head of this sinRidar lizard, which, as Ikr as is ascertained, appears to be re- stricted to Esrypt, where, according to Lefebvre, it is very common in the oasis of Bahrieh, at Labou, Quasr, and Uahoueit, and is to be seen in abun- dance on the ridges of rice-grounds, at the foot of hedges, and about the ruts of the miry roads of vil- lages. It burrows so superficially tliat the slightest disturbance made by the feet of the passer-by lays open its retreat. It is very active in its movements, but when captured does not attempt to bite. It is a very remarkable circumstance, that an embalmed individual of this species was found by M. Lelebvre himself in the environs of Thebes. This he gave to M. Cocteau, who drew up an interesting memoir, which he was about to publish when death inter- rupted his labours. It is, however, given by MI\I. Dum6iil and Bibron. A similarly embalmed Sphe- nops is in the Egyptian IVIuseum of the Louvre. 2204. — Sacra's Dipoglossus {Dipoglossits SagrtB), Head of. We figure the head of this scincoid lizard so as to show the form of the tongue cleft at its apex, and covered above with papillae like little scales. This reptile is a native of Cuba, where it was dis- covered by M. Ramon de la Sagra. It lives in cool and humid places, where the soil is light ; and is extremely quick and active in its movements. Nei- ther in this nor the genus Sphenops are there any palatal teeth. 220.5.— The TJabouya {Gongylns ocellatus). The ocellated Scink, Ma- bouya Scink of Shaw ; Tiliqua of Malta, Griff, 'Animal Kingdom,' Cuv. ; Lacepede"s Gallywasp, Gray ; Scincus ocellatus, Meyer. This little scincoid lizard is found along the shores of the Mediterranean, and is common in Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta ; it occurs also in Egypt, and in the Island of Teneriffe. Dry and slightly elevated spots are its favourite abodes, and it conceals itself in the sand or under stones. Its food consists of insects, which it seizes alter the manner of the true lizards; and though its form does not promise much agility, its movements are quicker than might be expected. When caught, it does not attempt to bite, but merely struggles to escape. It is subject to great variation of colouring, but is generally marked above by ocellated spots of black with a yellowish centre. 2206.— The Common Seps (Seps chalci(ks). Seps tridactylus, Gerv., Gray, and others. In this form we see a decided approximation to the limbless groups of the present family : the body is elongated and slender; the limbs are very short and small, and furnished with only three minute toes ; the under eyelid is transparent ; the teeth are simple, none on the palate ; muzzle conical ; tongue flat squamous, notched at the point. This smooth serpentiform scink is found in the south of France, in Italy and Spain, in the islands of the Mediterranean, and on the Mediterranean shores of Africa. It lives on worms, little snails and slugs, spiders, and all sorts of insects. It is viviparous, like our viviparous lizard or the slow- worm. 2207. — The Slowwoem {Anguisfragilis). Blindworm, Head of. The Slowworm, as a type of the genus Anguis, may be thus characterized : — Body and tail cylin- drical and obtuse ; all the scales smooth, glossy, imbricate, nearly equal on the upper and under parts ; head covered with nine larger plates ; limbs reduced to mere rudiments beneath the skin ; the mouth is small ; the teeth minute, none on the palate ; the eyes are small but brilliant. The slowworm is found over the greater part of Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia ; and it is common in many parts of England, frequenting copses, orchards, old mouldering walls, and banks, where it delights to bask in the sun ; it is a sluggish, timid creature, and when handled, even roughly, seldom attempts to bite : if it does, its jaws are too small and feeble and its teeth too minute to inflict a wound ; scarcely indeed does it make any impres- sion, and the opinion that it is venomous is as ab- surd as it is erroneous. Let those who believe it put it themselves to the test, examine the creature's teeth, try their effect on any small animal, and not give up their common sense to the assertions of the ignorant. I According to I^treille, the food of the slowworm consists of worms and beetles, to which it adds frogs, small rats, and even toads ; but this is a mistake : the undilafable mouth of the slowworm is incapable Vol. II. 99 of taking in such prey ; it could no more engulf a frog or rat than could the little viviparous lizard ; it feeds to some extent, perhaps, on insects, but niore particularly on worms and slugs, especially the latter; as was witnessed by Mr. George Daniel, whose account of the habits of the blindworm, in Mr. Bennet's edition of White's ' Selborne,' is very interesting. "A blindworm'' he writes,-' that I kept alive for nine weeks, would, when touched, turn and bite, altlioueh not very sharply ; its bite was not sufficient to draw blood, but it always re- tained its hold until released. It drank sparingly of milk, raising the head when drinking. It fed upon the little white slug so common in fields and gar- dens, eating six or seven of them one after the other. It invariably took them in one position. Elevating its head slowly above its victim, it would suddenly seize the slug by the middle, in the same way that a dog will generally seize a rat by the loins. It would then hold it thus sometimes for more than a minute, when it would pass its prey through its jaws, and swallow the slug head fore- most. It refused the larger slugs, ami would not touch either young frogs or mice. Snakes kept in the same cage took both frogs and mice. The blindworm avoided the water ; the snakes on the contrary coiled themselves in a pan containing water which was put into the cage, and appeared to delight in it. The blindworm was a remiirkably fine one, measuring fifteen inches in length; it cast its slough while in my possession ; the i:kin came off in separate pieces, the peeling of the head being completed the last." In a state of nature, however, the cuticle, as in the snake, is shed in one entire everted piece. We have alluded to the brittleness of the tail of the viviparous lizard: the same brittle- ness characterizes the whole body of the slowworm. When alarmed or irritated, it forcibly contracts all its muscles, and breaks asunder upon the slightest attempt to bend it, or a trifling blow. It was from this circumstance that Linnaeus gave it the name of fragilis. Like the other reptiles of our island, the blindworm hybernates, making a burrow under de- cayed masses of vegetation, in the soft earth, work- ing its way to a considerable depth, the glossy smoothness of the scales facilitating its passage. In such burrows, Latreille assures us, it usually lives, coming up for the purpose of breathing, when it raises its head out of its hole, ready to retreat on the appearance of danger. Even in the winter it some- times does this, though snow may be on the ground, if the sun be shining with a warm though transient gleam. We have often in summer seen it basking in old hedge-rows, and about crumbling old walls : it is easily captured. As is the case with the viviparous lizard and the viper, the slowworm produces living young, the eggs being hatched just previously to the birth of the offspring they enclosed. This takes place in June or July. The young vary from six to twelve in number, and when first born are not two inches long; they soon, however, become active, and creep about in search of minute slugs and worms. It is from the smallness of its eyes that this rep- tile has received the name of blindworm; they are, however, bright and quick, and defended by move- able eyelids ; the minute teeth are slightly hooked ; the tongue is rather broad, not very free, nor bifid, as in the snake, but merely notched at the tip. The general colour is lustrous silvery grey with a tinge of brown ; a dark line runs along the spine, and ob- scure lines or rows of spots are carried down the sides ; there is, however, considerable variety. The under parts are of a bluish-black, with white reticu- lations. The young are of a pale yellowish-grey above, black beneath ; there is a little black dot on the top of the head, and another at the back of the head, whence a narrow black line is continued down the spine. The adults measure from twelve to fifteen inches, but the proportionate length of the tail part varies, sometimes being not half the length of the body, sometimes nearly equalling it. This difference may in a great measure depend on sex, for in the lizards the body of the female is proportionally longer than that of the male. 2208. — The Painted Acostias {Acontias meleagris). Anguis meleagris of Gmelin, Shaw, and others ; Javelin Snake. Releningto Fig. 2209, a represents the head as seen from above; 6, the same in profile; c, the same ' with the mouth open to show the tongue. [ In the genus Acontias the muzzle, which is coni- ! cal, is sheathed in a large single case or horny mask, on each side of which open the nostrils; the j tongue is flat, arrow-headed, squamous, and scarcely ] notched at the tip ; teeth small, blunt; none in the palate. There is only one eyelid, namely, the lower. The tail is blunt. Scales smooth ; limbs none. The Painted Acontias, which is allied to our blindworm, which it resembles in habits, is a native of South Africa, and is very common at the Cape of Good Hope. '^ The general colour of this reptile is chestnut- brown, the margin of every scale being of a very light yellow, producing a prettily mottled appear- ance. The abdomen is white. 2210.— The Uommox Zonurus (Zomirusiirisciin), Cordyle Lizard, Shaw : Cordylug griseus, Cuv. I In our notice of the ptychopleurous chalcidiB, we I omitted this singular reptile, which is a native of j South Africa and Senegal. The genus is thus de- [ fined by Mr. Gray:-Form lizard-like; tympanic membrane exposed ; legs four. Femoral pores dis- tinct ; head depressed, broad behind ; supra orbital plate expanded. Tail depressed with whorls of large sciuare-Ueeled spinous scales. Back with keeleil subsiiinous scales, those of the under surface smooth. Toes five on each loot. "The tongue is an ow-head shaped ; free anteriorly, scarcely notched, and velvety. No teeth on the palate. In this lizard the head is covered with large plates ; the scales of the upper surface are quadri- lateral, slightly imbricated from without inwards, forming close transverse bands ; a furrow runs along the lower region of each side. This species, the rough-scaled Cape lizard of Petiver, is very common at the Cape of Good Hope. ft varies in colour, but is generally yellowish on the back, sides, and tail. The outer parts are white. "The general form is thick and depressed, and the limbs are robust. It is not very rapid in its move- ments. Before leaving the Sauria we must advert to some extinct forms, which at some remote epoch tenanted our globe, realizing the wildest dreams of poetic imagination, and forcibly impress upon our minds the fact of the great difi'erence between many beings which once enjoyed life and light, and those which after the lapse of ages occupy their places. We shall first draw attention to the Pterodactyles. These extraordinary animals, which were regarded by Blumenbach as birds, and by Professor Hejmann of Strasburg as intermediate between mammalia, and birds, were ascertained by Cuvier to belong to the Sauria, or reptiles : and his views have been since amply confirmed. " They are," he says, " rep- tiles, of which the principal characters are a very short tail, a very long neck, the muzzle much elon- gated and armed with sharp teeth; the legs also long, and one of the toes of the anterior extremity excessively elongated, having probably served for the attachment of a membrane adapted for support- ing them in the air; besides this there are four (or three) other toes of the ordinary size, terminated by hooked claws." The remains of these strange beings occur in the lithographic limestone of the Jura formation at Aichstiidt and Solenhofen, in the lias of Lyme Regis, and the oolite at Stonesfield, Banz, &c. With them are mixed the remains of fishes, Crustacea, and large insects, as libellulae and coleoptera. Eight species are ascertained, varying in size from a snipe to that of a cormorant; viz., Pt. longirostrjs (Solenhofen), P. Brevirostris (Solen- hofen), P. crassirostris (Solenhofen), P. medius (Miinster), P. Miinsteri (Solenhofen), P. macronyx (t.yme Regis, and Banz in Germany), P. grandis (Solenhofen ?), and P. Bucklandi (Stonesfield). Our pictorial specimens are P. longirostris, P. brevirostris, and P. crassirostris. 2211. — The Lo.ng-Muzzled Pterodactylk ' {PterodacUjlus longirostris). In all these Pterodac- tyles it will be observed that, while the head as a whole is very large in proportion to the body, the cranial cavity is very contracted ; the orbits are large, and extensive facial apertures or hollows- diminish much from the weight of the muzzle. Irii all the neck is very long, but particularly in the- present species ; the vertebrae being very elongated individually, with the exception of the first two. At the same time they are strong, and the head, neck, and jaws were no doubt moved by voluminous muscles. The length of the jaws armed anteriorly with sharp teeth is extraordinary ; the lower jaw is slender. The vertebral column of the back and loins is stout, the tail short, and the ribs slender. This species equalled a woodcock in size, but the extent of its wing-membranes, from the length of the outer finger of the fore-limbs, must have been very great, and it may easily be imagined what force of muscle was required for agitating them. 2212. — The Short-Muzzled Pterodactylb {Pt brevirostris). In this small species the muzzle is short, and bird-like in its outline, which resembles that of the head of a goose, and the neck is accord- ingly abbreviated. 2213. — The Thick-Muzzled Pterodactvle {Pt. crassirostris). In this species the muzzle is moderate and thick; the head exceeds the neck in O 2 £ •8 1 i f 22 12. —Short muzzletl Pterodactyle !S:4.-Thlck-lui»il«.l Pterodactyls: iMtored. 100 4 Wf>Vm\'m'7mP7^7mi 222:1 — Upper Skull of Iclitliyaiauriu. S215. — Head of Camper's MosaBanras. 8217^-Teeth of Geosannis. 2219.— Portion of Fig. 2018, 8226.— Lower Jaw of Ichthyosaurus. 3216. — Head of Soniliiering'3 Geosaurus. 102 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Extinct SAnRiANS. lensith, which consists of enormously stout veriebrae, i exceedinir those of the back; indeed (he body seems disproportionately small to the volume of llie head | and neck ; but the anterior limbs are very long, the | paws lar>;e, and the tinger for supportinij the mem- i brane greatly developed : and no doubt, when this membrane on each side was unfolded, it advanced so as to prevent the animal fiom necessarily droop- i ing the head during flisht, and thus maintained the . balance of the botly. Fig. 2214 is a delineation of this species, as restored by Dr. Goldfuss. 1 Dr. Huckland remarks that in one species (the Pt. ; macronyx, from the lias at Lyme Regis) there is an unusual provision for giving support and move- ment to a large head at the extremity of a long neck, by the occurrence of bony tendons, running parallel to the cervical vertebrK, like the tendons that pass along the back of the pigmy musk-deer, and of many birds. This provision, he observes, does not occur in any modem lizards, whose necks are short and require no such aid. With respect to the habits and food of these flying lizards — these aiirial sauria — we can only form a con- jecture. Dr. Ruckland thinks it probable that, be- sides having the power of flight, they might be ca- pable of swimming also, as the Rousette bat of the island of Bonin (Pteropus), and that the larger spe- cies might possibly have fed upon fishes, darting at them as they rose to the surface and carrying them away ; the smaller were probably insectivorous. He adduces the size and form of the hind foot, and also of the leg and thigh, to show that the Pterodactyles had the power of standing firmly on the ground, where, with their wings closed, they possibly moved after the manner of birds; and that they could also perch on trees and climb on rocks and cliffs, with their hind and fore feet conjointly, like bats and lizards. Contemporary with these strange monsters — " chimsene dire" — were monstrous ichthyosauri and plcsiosauri ploughing the waters, while on the shore crawled gigantic crocodiles and tortoises, and huge Crustacea. 2215. — Camper's MosASArans {Mosa.i(atnis Camperi). Head fossil. In the cal- careous hills of the valley of the Meuse near Maes- tricht, in the upper chalk in England, and also in the green sand of Virginia, occur the remains of a huge aquatic lizard, the head of which in many points resembles that of the Varans (Varanus Mersem) of the present day, but had teeth in the palate (pterygoid bones) as well as in the jaws, like the iguanas. This gigantic reptile, the remains of which have been by some mistaken for those of the whale, appears to have succeeded the ichthyosauri and plesiosauri, as the tyrant of the waters, its re- mains occurring in strata posterior to those in which the bones of these later reptiles are imbedded. It e.Kceeded twenty-five feet m length, and was ex- pressly foi-med for cleaving the ocean with wonder- ful rapidity. The tail was compressed laterally, high and deep, in the vertical direction, and with this huge oar it lashed vigorously from side to side, sculling itself onwards. Instead of legs, it had four large flippers, like those of the plesiosaurus, and could therefore dive and mount again to the surface with the utmost ease. The ball-and-socket union of thevertebrsB forming the spinal column allowed the utmost flexibility of movement, and thus was it or- ganized for a life of aquatic rapine, destroying the largest fishes with a snap of its tremendous jaws. Tne head measures four feet in length ; that of the largest living Varan five inches. 2216, 2217, 2218, 2219.— Sommbking's Gkosaueds (Geosaurus Scemmeringii). Fossil bones. The remains of this reptile were found in the canton of Meulenhardt (near Mannheim) at the depth of ten feet, and at a little distance from the re- mains of a crocodilus prisons, by labourers em- ployed to work the mines of granular iron which fill the fissures of the calcareous schist. Near these relics were the shell of an ammonite, fragments of a bluish shell, and a great quantity of small scales. Other fragments of this reptile have been found in the Soleiihofen slate, and we believe in America (marl of the green sand. New Jersey). This species, though allied to the preceding, differs in dental characters ; and the orbit presents us with bony lamins, which belonged either to the upper eyelid, or, as is more probable, to the sclerotic coat of the eye, a structure occurring in the recent varans, but not in crocodiles. It appears to have measured twelve or thirteen feet in length. Fig 2216, a and b represent part of the head, which has been com- pressed ; some of the sclerotic plates are still visible within the orbit, at h. Fig. 2217, c, d. e, teeth which had preserved their shining, hard, and brown enamel. Fig. 2218, a portion of the vertebral column, with fragments of ribs, See. Fig. 2219, //, another portion of the vertebral column, also with Irasuieuts of ribs. 2220. — The Megalosaubus. Portions of the lower jaw. The remains of this enormous reptile have been found in the oolitic j slate at Stonesfield, the ferruginous sandstone of Tilgate Forest, and the oolite of Normandy. No entire skeleton has been discovered, but the frag- ments prove Its colossal dimensions; and the struc- ture of its teeth that it was carnivorous. The thigh-bone of an individual, formerly in the collec- tion of Gideon iMantell, Esq., and now in the British Museum (from the Tilgale Forest), measures more than twenty inches in circumference, equalling in magnitude that of the largest elephant. Hence, if the total length of this reptile was in proportion to the length of its extremities, it mu»t in height have equalled our largest elephants, and have fallen but little short of the largest whales in length ; making, however, every deduction, it would not have mea- sured less than sixty or seventy feet. To such a reptile our hugest cro"codiles are mere pigmies. Thigh-bones of smaller individuals are in the mu- seum of Oxford. Of these the largest is nearly three feet in length, and ten inches in circumference at its smallest part. Hence, calculating according to the ordinary standard of the lizard families, the in- | dividual when alive could not have been less than from six to seven feet high, nor than forty feet long. \ The teeth of this animal were compressed, sharp, and arched backwards, with the edges finely denticu- lated; the germs of successive teeth (those taking , the place of such as are worn out and fall) are in ! distinct sockets by the side of their antecessors. Fig. 2220 represents, a, the anterior extremity of j the right lower jaw seen from the inside ; b, the same, presenting its outer side. Fig. 2221 shows the tooth of Megalosaurus, two-thirds the natural size. The dotted lines indicate the conical cavity containing pulp, within the root of the growing tooth, a is a transverse section, showing the compressed form, rounded back, and sharp cutting edge anteriorly. 2222. — The Ichthyosaurus {Ichtfii/osaurus communis). It is in the lias and oolitic formations that the remains of the Ichthyo- sauri, or fish lizards, abound. They have been found chiefly in the lias at Lyme Regis ; but, according to Dr. Buckland, they exist along the whole extent of this formation throughout England, from the coasts of Dorset, throueh Somersetshire and Leicestershire, to the coast of Yorkshire. They are found also in the lias of France and Germany. The range of the genus Ichthyosaurus, says Dr. Buckland, "seems to have begun with the Muschelkalk, and to have ex- tended through the whole of the oolitic period into the crestaceous formation. The most recent stratum in which any remains of this genus have been found is in the chalk marl at Dover, where they have been discovered by Dr. Mantell. I have found them in the gault, near Benson, Oxon." The general form of this extraordinary animal may be easily under- stood from a survey of the skeleton as restored by Conybeare, Figs. 2222 and 2223, compared with Fig. 2224, the skeleton merely cleared from the lias in which it was imbedded. Some of the largest of these aquatic reptiles must have exceeded thirty feet in length. Let us suppose a grampus, with a sharp muzzle, with four broad paddles, and a long tail laterally compressed, deep and high, forming a caudal fin for lashing the water from side to side, large eyes, and tremendous jaws, and we have a tolerably faithful likeness of this tenant of the an- cient seas. The whole organization of the skeleton demonstrates that the habits of the Ichthyosaurus were exclusively aquatic. The muzzle is elongated and pointed, and the teeth, amounting to one hun- dred and eighty in some specimens, are set in a fur- row of the jaws, and their succession is managed, as in the crocodile, by "the young tooth budding up at the base of the old tooth, where, as it grows, its pressure sets the absorbents at work ; the base of the old tooth is thus partially removed, and as the new tooth advances, is finally disp'aced to make room for its more efficient successor.' The nostrils are placed just anterior to the orbits, in which we observe still remaining the osseous sclerotic ring, composed of distinct portions, placed in regular array. The eye was extremely large ; and we can imagine how it glared with ferocity as the monster darted towards his prey. Tremendous must have been 'the snap of the jaws when the animal seized his victim, and as they ar§ long and slender, some liability to fracture, from the mere force of the muscles producing their sudden and forceful col- lision, might not unreasonably be expected ; indeed, as Dr. Buckland well observes, a definite provision is made against this in the lower jaw, each ramus of which consists of six pieces of unequal length, placed together on the same principle as the plates forming the steel springs of carriages ; they are most numerous and strong at the portion of the jaw where the greatest strength is required to be exerted, where in lact the main stress is, and are thinner and fewer anteriorly. This arrangement is well seen on the uppermost skull. Fig. 2225, and in the sketch of the lower jaw. Fig. 2226. The neck is short, and the vertebral column very peculiar; it consists of nioie than one hundred ver- tebne, which, instead of resembling those of saurian reptiles, are formed on the type of those of fishes ; they are, in fact, concave anteriorly and posteriorly, and were doubtless filled by a thick fluid, and bound together by elastic capsules. " The sauroid type." observes Dr. Buckland, " is here departed from, in favour of a conformation demanded by the habits of the animal." It is further noticed, he adds, by Sir E. Home, that the annular part of the vertebrae (enclosing the spinal cord above) is neither consoli- dated with the body of the separate bones as in quadrupeds, nor connected by suture as in crocodiles, but remains always distinct, being articulated by a peculiar joint resembling a compressed, oval, ball- and-socket joint ; and Mr. Conybeare observes that this mode of articulation co-operates with the cup- shaped form of the intervertebral joints, in giving flexibility to the vertebral column, and assisting its vibratory motions ; for, had these parts been conso- lidated as in quadrupeds, their articulating processes must have locked the whole columti together, so as to render such a motion of its parts impossible. Every one knows that the spinal column of a recent fish maintains itself straight (when removed from the animal), and has a certain degree of springi- ness, or elasticity, by which, when bent, it returns to the same form ; this results from the form of the vertebr*, the elastic capsules binding each to each, and the presence of the fluid which fills their cup- shaped cavities; it is very probable that in the Ichthyosaurus the same character prevailed. Fig. 2227 represents the sternal arch and anterior paddles of this animal, in which it will be seen how provision is made for the strain of the latter, while breasting the rolling waves ; at the same time the broad surfaces of the clavicles, besides adding to the strength of the chest, afford an ample and solid surface for the attachment of powerful muscles. The blades of the paddles, if we may use the expression, consist of polygonal bones disposed in regular order, exhibiting a tessellated surface. It is however, not only the external form and general habits of this being of an antique world that the anatomist has the means of ascertaining ; he has also data from which he can deduce many important inferences with respect both to the internal structure and the nature of the food ; indeed, the fossilized contents of the abdominal viscera, termed Coprolites, are often found in abundance between the ribs ; and without entering into details, we may observe that the alimentary canal must have been very analogoiis to that of the sharks of the modern ocean : these coprolites consist principally of the scales of extinct fishes, and chiefly of those of a species (known in a fossil state) termed Pholidophorus limbatus; these scales are not only found in most of the coprolites, but dispersed throughout the entire region of the ribs. Fig. 2228 shows the ordinary form of the coprolites : n is a magnified scale of Pholidophorus limbatus imbedded therein (internal surface); b, the external surface of the same. With respect to the tegumentary covering of the ichthyosaurus, we may conclude, from the absence of plates or large scales, or the impressions of such, in the lias, that it was simple and naked, resembling that of the grampus and other cetaceous animals. Thus then, from the beds of lias in which they have been entombed for ages, have the relics of these aquatic sauria " been summoned by the labours of the geologist to give evidence of events that passed at the bottom of the ancient seas in ages long pre- ceding the existence of man." They tell of seas over \vhich the canoe of the savage never floated, yet teeming with life ; of a system of warfare anil destruction in which man took no part ; of alterations on the surface of our planet, themselves being the historic monuments ; of changes in the forms of i organic existence ; of races commencing, spreading far and wide, and then blotted out of the catalogue of living things. This is no dream of fancy, no theory based upon an unstable foundation ; the proofs are abundant, and such as to force conviction. We may picture to oui-selves the huge ichthyosaurus plough- ing the billows, driving the shoals of fish belbre him, pursuing them with unrelenting pertinacity, and thinning their numbers ; we may picture him cruising about the mouths of rivers, and scattering terror in the finny hordes around ; but a change has taken place, and the ploughman drives his team where the ichthyosaurus, entombed below, once revelled in his might. Ten distinct species of ichthyosaurus are recorded by Professor Owen, viz. : Ichth. communis, Cony- beare ; intermedius, Con. ; platyodon, Con. ; conchi- odon Owen ; latifrons, Konig ; latimanus, Owen ; thyreospondylus, Owen ; trigonus, Owen ; tenui- rostris. Con. ; and acutirostris, Owen. This admirable anatomist, comparing the paddks Extinct Sauriaxs.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 103 of these enaliosaurians,* as tliey are termed, with those of the cetacea, comments on the development of the clavicles, and of the sterno-clavicular and coracoid arches in the former, an apparatus which would enable the animals, if stranded, to raise them- selves up and regain the water, like seals, which the cetacea cannot do ; and he adds, " Doubtless the anterior paddles mia;ht be subservient to locomotion, not only in the water, but on land ; that when applied to the resisting soil, they might react with due force upon the trunk. It is very conceivable that the ichthyosaurus, like the crocodile, may have come ashore to sleep, or to deposit its eggs, sup- posing them to have been oviparous, as the sura of their analogies deducible from their osseous tex- ture would indicate. The hind paddles would also be serviceable in terrestrial progression, while in the strictly marine cetacea they can readily be dispensed with." If the Ichthyosaurus ever came on shore, its mo- tions must have been awkward and shuffling, not perhaps unlike those of the marine turtles, which perhaps also resemble it in its mode of depositing and burying its eggs. 2229. — The PLESiosArmos {Plesiosaunis dolichodeirus). We are here presented with another group of extinct Enaliosaurians, of strange form, the existence of which was contem- porary with that of the Ichthyosaurus, their remains -occurring in the same strata. If our readers refer to vol. i. p. 113, Fig. 510, an attempted restoration of (he characteristic forms of animal and vegetable life, during the deposition of the secondary series of strata, in which the oolitic formation is included, the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus will appear con- spicuous; and some observations in p. 114, on the leading features of the primary, secondary, and ter- tiary periods, may be not uninteresting, read in con- nexion with the present account of these reptiles ; as serving to give some idea of the period of their ex- istence, relatively to that of beings belonging to the transition period ; and, also, that of animals ap- proaching more nearly to, and often closely resem- bling, the present tenants of our planet, and with which the tertiary strata are replete ; creatures which, in the eyes of the geologist, have but re- cently passed away, to make room for successors, often, indeed, of the same order and genus. The skeleton of the Plesiosaurus (Fig. 2229) was found in 1823, at Lyme Regis, imbedded in the shale or slate, which lies between the beds of lias limestone, and is crushed almostflat, probably by the deposition of the vast mass of stone above it. Its component parts, however, are easily made out; the bones of the body having suffered the most distor- tion. The small head, elongated neck, four ample paddles, and short tail, are, with the exception of one paddle, very apparent ; the vertebra: of the lower part of the neck and chest, and the ribs, are disunited and scattered confusedly ; yet from these may the skeleton be rebuilt, and a fair idea of the appearance of the living animal deduced. It was a reptile with large flippers, adapted for aquatic pro- gression, with a flexible neck, exceeding the body in length, and terminated by a small head, the jaws being armed with tormidable teeth. Dr. Buckland truly observes that the discovery of this genus forms one of the most important additions that geology has made to comparative anatomy. " It is of the Plesiosaurus," lie adds, " that Cuvier asserts the structure to have been the most heteroclite, and its characters altogether the most monstrous, that have been yet found amidst the ruins of a former world. To the head of a lizard it united the teeth of a crocodile ; a neck of enormous length, resem- bling the body of a serpent ; a trunk and tail having the proportions of an ordinary quadruped ; the ribs of a chameleon, and the paddles of a whale. Such are the strange combinations of form and structure in the Plesiosaurus, a genus, the remains of which, after interment for thousands of years, amidst the wreck of millions of the inhabitants of the an- cient earth, are at length recalled to light by the researches of the geologist, and submitted to our examination, in nearly as perfect a state as the species that are now existing upon the earth." Conybeare, who, when materials were far more scanty than at present, with singular acumen restored the skeleton of this wonderful extinct animal, thus deduces a rationale of its probable habits and man- ners : "That it was aquatic," he says, "is evident from the form of its paddles; that it was marine is almost equally so, from the remains with which it is universally associated ; that it may have occasion- ally visited the shore, the resemblance of its ex- tremities to those of a turtle may lead us to conjec- ture ; its motion, however, must have been awkward on land ; its long neck must have impeded its pro- gress through the water, presenting a striking con- trast to the organization which so admirably fits the * \fiXin, marine ; nuif»$, a lizard. Ichthyosaurus to cut through the waves. May it not, therefore, be considered (since in addition to these circumstances its respiration must have re- quired frequent access of air) that it swam upon or near the surface, arching back its long neck like the swan, and occasionally darting it down at the fish which happened to float withm its reach ? It may, perhaps, have lurked in shoal water along the coast, concealed among the sea-weed, and, raising its nos- trils to the surface, from a considerable depth, have found a secure retreat from the assaults of danger- ous enemies ; while the length and flexibility of its neck may have compensated for the want of strength in its jaws and its incapacity for swift motion through the water, by the suddenness and agility of the attack which they enabled it to make on every animal fitted for its prey which came within its reach."— ' Geol. Trans.' vol. i. p. 388, N. S. We agree with the latter ideas expressed by the eminent writer; and it has often struck us that there is an analogy between it and the New Holland Chelodina (Chelodina Novae Hollandiae), a fresh- water tortoise, with a serpentiform elongated neck, and which lurks in concealment, suddenly darting at and seizing such fish or reptiles as approach its place of ambush. The species of Plesiosaurus determined are even more numerous than those of the Ichthyosaurus, amounting, according to Professor Owen, to sixteen in number — viz. : PI. Hawkensii, Owen ; dolicho- deirus, Conybeare ; macrocephahis, Conybeare ; bra- chycephalus, Owen ; niacromus, Owen ; pachyomus, Owen ; arcuatus, Owen ; subtrigonus, Owen ; tri- gonus, Cuvier; brachyspondylus, Owen; costatus, Owen ; daedicomus, Owen ; rugosus, Owen ; grandis, Owen ; trochanterius, Owen ; and affinis, Owen. We shall now proceed to offer a few general ob- servations on the bones of this genus, of which we have some interesting pictorial examples. Figs. 2230 and 2231 represent the Skeleton of the Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus as restored by Conybeare, and convey a good idea of the animal's general form. The head (Fig. 2232, a, the Profile ; b, the Upper Surface) is not unlike that of the crocodile in general form, but is much smaller in proportion to the body ; in the elongated form of the strong cranial bones, and also in other details, it exhibits, as Professor Owen remarks, an affinity to that of the Lacertian Sauria. The nostrils are situated just anterior to the orbits. The usual complicated structure observable in the lower jaw of the Saurians appears also in that of the Plesiosaurus, the general form of which will be better conceived by referring to Fig. 2004 than by any merely descriptive details: a is the lower jaw seen from above; h is the same viewed laterally; c, the jaw seen from below. Fig. 2234 is a tooth, sliehtly magnified. With respect to the ribs, their free extremities are connected together in the abdominal region by a series of intermediate slender pieces, so adapted to each other as to admit of a sliding motion of their component parts on each other, thus favouring the expansion of the cavity containing the lungs. These intermediate bones have been termed by Conybeare sterno-costal arcs. Their general outline is represented at Fig. 2235. Fig. 2236 represents the Pectoral Arch of the Plesiosaurus, which is remarkable for strength and development. It consists of the sternum, the clavicles, and the coracoid bones (respectively let- tered St., CI., and Cor.) ; the latter are remarkably expanded. As the posterior limbs equal and some- times exceed the anterior in size, the pelvic bones, as might be expected, are well developed, constitut- ing an arch, as seen at Fig. 22.37, consisting of the pubic bones, the ischiatic, and the iliac (respectively lettered Pub., Isch., and 11.), irrespective of the ver- tebrae. With respect to the neck, it varies in the different species, as to the number of vertebral bones compos- ing it, from twenty to forty. As it would he out of place in our present work to enter into the minutiae of osteological details, we shall cut short these observations, recommending to those who wish to enter deeply into the subject Profe.ssor Owen's Report on the Enaliosauria, or lizards of the sea, read at the British Association for the Advancement of Science ; to the Geol. Trans., vol. v. 2nd series, 1840; and Geol. Proc. 1838. Fig. 2238 represents the Relics of Plesiosaurus macroccphalus as cleared from the block in which they were embedded. In this species the head is comparatively larger than in PI. dolichodeirus, and the neck shorter and much thicker. Such then is an outline of the general characters of these reptiles of a former world, beings which cannot fail to excite the astonishment of all who for a moment contemplate their form and proportions. In the British Museum a splendid series of their remains strikes the attention of even the most care- less visitors, and leads the reflective to throw them- selves back upon a by-gone time, overleaping all historic periods, and calling up around them scenes totally dissimilar from any now displayed upon the surface of this planet. On the land grew plants such as Lepidodendron, Stigmaria, &c., now entirely unknown, towering pines, Zamiae, and strange ferns ; the morass was crowded with plants apparently resembling the equisetum ; overhead sailed the Pterodactyles ; various insectsflitted about, hovering over the marbh, along the borders of which wandered the huge Mogalosaurvis ; the watera teemed with life : turtles, fishes, ammonites, nautili, echini, and cuttle-fish, with varied encrinites and corals, lived and perished in those seas whose billows were breasted by Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, dart- ing alter their prey, and leaving a hoary track behind them. But silence reigned, save when some monster uttered a hideous hiss or roar, or lashed the water into foam ; no birds saluted the morning sun with their voices, or made the woods resonant of melody ; a few ])erhaps might have existed, but they were thinly scattered : no deer or antelope browsed in rich meadows, no cattle wandered over the hills, no elephants came traniphng their way through the forests; all was still and silent. If indeed any mam- malia existed, like the birds they were few and local ; for it is not till we arrive at the tertiaiy series of deposits that their remains in abundance prove the earth then fairly fitted for their general distribution. During the deposition of the oolitic strata of the secondary series, few spots perhaps were adapted for their reception. How ditfeient the animal and vegetable kingdoms of that far-distant period to the animal and vegetable kingdoms of the present day, and how ditferent the relation of the land to the waters ! What are islands and continents now was a wide waste of ocean, or vast lagoons : but still have we in the solid rock the monuments of time which proclaim (how impressively !) the primeval phases through which our planet has passed, and the changes and succession of organic beings on its surface. They prove, moreover, that at the period of the depositions taking place to which we imme- diately refer, viz., the oolitic, lias, and Jura lime- stone, the saurian order had assumed its full develop- ment, and exhibited a series of monstrous forms, the contemplation of which fills our minds with asto- nishment. ORDER OPHIDIA (SERPENTS). The present order, Ophidia, abounds in species principally confined to the hottest regions, but extending also into the temperate latitudes, and even to climates where the cold of winter is consider- able : in this sense they may be said to be spread almost universally, with certain exceptions. We may instance Ireland, where, indeed, it is said that there are no reptiles, the climate or soil being un- fitted for their existence : this assertion, however, is not quite correct, for the frog is common ; and though attempts to introduce the harmless ringed snake of our island have hitherto failed, it is because when discovered these reptiles are killed by the peasantry, who regard them with abhorrence. We quote from Mr. Bell the following communication, which he received from Mr. Thompson, exjilanatory of the reason why St. Patrick's malediction still operates in keeping the Emerald Isle clear of these animals: — "In this order Ophidia," he writes, " there is not now, nor I believe ever was there, any species indigenous to Ireland. In the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for April, 1835, it is remarked : — ' We have learned from good authority that a recent importation of snakes has been made into Ireland, and that at present they are multiply- ing rapidly within a few miles of the tomb of St. Patrick.' I never," proceeds Mr. Thompson, " heard of this circumstance until it was pubHshed, and subsequently endeavoured to ascertain its truth, by inquinng of the persons about Downpatrick (where the tomb of St. Patrick is) who are best acquainted with these subjects, not one of whom ever heard of snakes being in the neighbourhood. Recollecting that about the year 1831 a snake (Natrix torquata), immediately alter being killed at Milecross, was brought by some country people in great consterna- tion to my friend Dr. J. L. Drummond, I thought this might be one of those alluded to, and recently made inquiry of James Cleaveland, Esq., of Ruth Gael House (county Down), twenty-five miles distant in a direct line from Downpatrick, respecting snakes said to have been turned out by him. I was favoured by that gentleman with the following satisfactory reply : ' The report of my having in- troduced snakes mto this country is correct. Being curious to ascertain whether the climate of Ireland was destructive to that class of reptiles, about six years ago I purchased half a dozen of them in Covent Garden Market in London ; they had been taken some time, and were quite tame and familiar. I turned them out in my garden ; they immediately rambled away ; one of them was killed at Milecross, tSM.— lehtlifonimn. 3M8.— Coprolite of Idrthyowoni*. ' »?27.— Sternal Atch and Anterior Paddln'of Ichthyoainna. itSSt—IcTiibjoaaras. ^^'^ A ^ 8a2».— 'Plcrionnnn.w fctmd at Lraw Rejl*. 104 2232.— Head of Pleaiosaunw. 2238.— rieaiosau7as ; a? imbedded. 2233, — Lower Jaw of Plesiosaums, No, 64. Vol. II. 2S31. — Skeleton of Flesiosaurna: restored. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 105 1C6 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Sehpents. three miles digtant, about a week aner its liberation, \ and three others were shortly afterwards killed i within that distance of the place where they were turned out, and it is highly probable that the remaining two met with a similar fate, falling victims to a reward which was offered for their desti-uction.'" It would appear then, that though the snake is not indigenous in Ireland, there is nothing in the climate to prevent its naturalization. There are no snakes in New Zealand, but on one occasion several dead sea-snakes were driven on the coast, to the consternation of the natives : one of these was presented to the Zool. Soc. (See ' Pro- ceeds.' 1838, p. 4.) ,.,,.. In the great Polynesian groups of islands these reptiles are not found, with a remarkable excep- tion, recorded by the late Mr. Williams, of the London Missionary Society, whose tragical fate is so well known. In his narrative he thus writes respecting the Samoa Islands, oflen termed the Navieators' : — Snakes also, wliich are unknown at the Tahitian and Hervey groups, abound here; I was informed that there were several species of them, some of which are beautifully variegated. Those procured for me were of a dark olive colour, about three feet long. There are also water-snakes, some of them beautifully marked with longitudinal stripes of yellow and black, and others with rings alternately white and black. The natives esteem both the land and sea snakes good food. In the disorder occasioned by the leak in our ship, and her subsequent sinking at Tongatabu, I lost my snakes and manv other curiosities which I was conveying home." 'To this he adds the following information : " Very large lizards are found on the mountains of Savaii and Upolo; and from the description I received I should conclude they were guanas. None, however, of these reptiles are venomous.* Another peculiarity in the natural history of the group is that a wild dog is found in the mountains ; I regretted exceedingly that I could not obtain one. From the description I received it appears to be a small animal of a dark dirty grey or lead colour, with little or no hair, and large erect eare." Somewhat unsatisfactory and unsettled are the genera into which the order Ophidia is divided ; it may be observed, however, that these reptiles pri- marily resolve themselves into three distinct sec- tions, viz., innoxious, poisonous, and aquatic, each section having its own characteristics. Looking at the ophidian reptiles generally, we may describe them as of elongated form, with the head distinct, possessing great flexibility and strength. The mouth is wide and dilatable, the eyes are bright, there are no external auditoiy orifices, nor are there any limbs, but in some, as the Boas, the posterior pair, as we shall hereafter more fully explain, exist in the form of stylets, and assist the tail in grasping. The top of the head is covered with plates, some- times with scales, resembling those of the upper surface, which are small or moderate, more or less acutely pointed, and imbricated ; these are termed squamcB. The scales of the under surface are broad and transverse, and the posterior edge of each over- lays the anterior margin of the one succeeding. These transverse under-plates are termed scuta. The eyes are exposed, being undefended by eye- lids, but the surface of the cornea is covered by a transparent continuation of a delicate epidermic membrane which invests the scales, and which is frequently cast off, the animal emerging in brighter colours and with renewed strength and activity. This epidermic investment is known as the slough of the snake. If we look at the skeleton of the snake, and we take for our example that of dne of the non-venomous snakes called pythons (see Fig. 2239), we shall be surprised at the beautiful arrange- ment of its component parts, at the number of the vertebra and the ribs, and a little investigation will serve to show how admirably it is adapted for flexi- bility and strength. If we attend first to the spinal column, of which two vertebrse are represented at Fig. 2240, we shall find that the bones are united together by ball and socket articulations, or in other words, that the rounded head of each is fitted into a cup-like cayily of its predecessor, so that the whole column is a chain of these joints, by which the vertebrse are firmly locked together, but which at the same time permit the utmost degree of mobility compatible with the safetv of the spinal cord. The various processes for the attachment of muscles are very prominent, and on the under surface, as seen at Fig. 2240, a a, are protuberances for the attachment of constricting muscles, by the action of which the python or boa crushes his victim. To the vertebrae thus united are attached the ribs, and these are so ordered as to become efficient or- gans of locomotion ; a circumstance first discovered by Tyson, and recorded in his observations on the Thla it not qv), and among the bronze rehcsin the British Museum are figures of this snake with its expanded hood, and which were apparently some of the penates or household gods. It is also clear that the Egyptians were in the habit of sacrificing human beings to serpents ; for in the tomb first discovered bv Belzoni in Thebes, is a representation thus de- scribed by Dr. Richardson ('Travels along ihe Mediterranean,' vol. i.) : " Here a human sacrifice .tares us in the face ; three human beings rest upon their knees with their heads struck off; the attitude in which they implored for mercy is that in which they met their doom, and the serpent opposite erects his crest, on a level with their throats, ready to drink the stream of life as it gurgles from their veins." The executioner is a priest, which concurs with other circumstances to show beyond dispute the religious character of the exhibition. The sacred figure of the circle, wings, and serpent occurs in many of the monumental remains of Upper Egypt, and is represented abundantly among the sacred symbols. To say nothing of the Babylonians and other people of antiquity who reverenced the serpent as an agathod»mon, or good genius, there are proofs of a like superstition in Qreece and Italy. Fig. 224o is the copy of a terra-cotta of Etruscan workmanship, in the Townley Gallery (Brit. Mus.), representmg a • The KrpenM ve artirti', not natanillrt.' wrpenU ; il il strange tli« h. who could copy .0 well the human fllture could not work oat the form of a arakf. Vol. 11. female, perhaps the goddess Hygeia, feeding a ser- pent. Fig. 2246 is one of many similar representa- tions at Pompeii, in which the lares or household gods are delineated in the form of serpents brooding over an altar. It is from a painting in the kitchen of a first-rate house, and the upper part of the tablet represents a sacrifice in honour of those serpent- deities, whose protection and custody over the pro- visions and cooking utensils are indicated by the border figures. We may also state that a picture found in'Herculaneum represents a serpent twined round an altar, from which it is taking its food, with a youth apparently worshipping it ; the in- scription is " Genius hujus loci montis. ' Similar representations are common. The Greeks, accord- ing to Justin Martyr, introduced the serpent into all their mysteries ; and not only had the walls of Athens the snaUe-encircled head of Medusa sculptured upon them, but a live serpent was kept in the Acropolis. Fi"- 2247 is a portion of the Egyptian painting prevwusly alluded to, exhibiting human sacrifices to a serpent ; and Fig. 2248 represents several sacred symbols of the Egyptians, in which the serpent is conspicuous. It will be remembered that the Is- raelites worshipped a brazen serpent (seraph) till it was broken by Hezekiah. In Hindoo mythology this animal also has a place, and according to Colo- nel Briggs cobras are sometimes kept and wor- shipped in temples, where they are pampered with milk and sugar, by the priests, and become very Tf we turn to the New Worid, we find that in Mexico and South America snake-worship was com- mon. The ancient Mexicans in particular paid homage to the mighty boa, and not only had ser- pent idols of fine workmanship, but living boas of monstrous size were kept tame by the priests and doubtless not without human victims ; for Bullock in his ' Six Months in Mexico,' speaks of a great serpent-idol of good workmanship, and almost per- fect in the cloisters behind the Dominican convent, represented in the act of swallowing a human vic- tim which is seen crushed and struggling in its horrid jaws. To the worship of the boa we shall again allude when we come to notice that reptile. We shall now pass on to our pictorial specimens of the ophidian race ; beginning with the non- venomous. Family COLUBRID^ (COLUBRINE SNAKES). 2249 (6), 2250.— The Ringed Snake (Natrix torquata, Ray). Tropidonotus Natrix, Kuhl ; Coluber Natrix, Linn. As an example of the Colu- bridffi we may adduce the common ringed snake of our island and Europe generally. The head in this genus is distinct, oblong-ovate, depressed, and co- vered above with scuta ; the gape is wide ; the body lon<' and slender ; the squamae are imbricate, lan- ceolate, and generally carinated ; the abdominal scuta are simple; those under the tail double or biserial. Fig. 2251 represents the Head and lail ol the Common Snake. Fig ''•'49 exhibits— a, the Common Adder ; b, the Ringe'd'Snake, by way of comparison : they are our only two true ophidian reptiles. The ringed snake is very harmless, and may be readily tamed; it is abundant in low moist woods, damp meadows, and hedge-rows, especially in the vicinity of water, to which it delights to resort, and in and around which its favourite food, the frog, is alwavstobe procured. It often frequents gardens attracted by the warmth of hotbeds and heaps ot manure, in which the females deposit their eggs; for the same reason, as we can personally testily, snakes often frequent the sides and bases ol lime- kilns composed of large rough masses of stone and turf, forming a thick mound, between the crevices of which they habitually conceal themseves and lay their eeES. White, in his ' History of Selborne, complains that snakes lay chains of eggs every sum- meT?n his melon-beds. In spite of all that can be Ze to prevent them: the eggs, he adds, do not hatch till the spring following; hence it follows that where they are not laid in such places as ma- nufe-heaps, or fn the crevices of limekilns as above noticed, and so subjected to what may be termed ariificial heat regularly kept up, they have to un- de go the natural cold of our winter In al cases moft probably they are so secured as to be delend^ against severe frost. The eggs are invested with a membrane, and are eighteen or twenty in number, wnnected together, by a glutinous matter, in a '°T'hf snaV; ^wims well and very gracefully, with the head arched above the surface, and, as we have witnessed, it can remain a considerable time below. Us probable that snakes pursue frogs and water- sh ew^s°n this element; but they also delight in ,t for we have watched them swimmmg about without anv aVparent object beyond the pleasure of the bath Thave alio known them take to the water in order' to escape when chased. In this fondness for water the snake differs from the blindworm, which avoids it, and from the viper, which prefers dry lo- calities, seldom if ever voluntarily attempting to swim. The snake is very voracious, and pursues its prey with great determination. It feeds on mice, nestling birds, and frogs, especially the latter, of which it is a great destroyer. We have several times seen snakes in the act of swallowing a frog, their jawg forced asunder, their neck swollen, and so absorbed in their laborious efforts to ingulf their prey, all the while alive, that they have made no attempt to es- cape. In taking the frog, the snake generally seizes one of the hind-legs, and first draws it in, then the whole body, portion after portion, till the whole dis- appears. This in-drawing of the prey is not an act of simple suction, but is connected with the me- chanism of the jaws, of which the bones are dis- tinct, being united together, and to the cranium, only by elastic ligaments. "This plan" ensures the necessary dilation of the mouth, for the prey swal- lowed generally exceeds the circumference of the snake ; and next, allows the opposite side of each jaw, above and below, the power of independent motion : the upper jaw on each side has two rows of sharp teeth ; the lower jaw has one row. The process is as follows : — The frog being seized, the snake advances as far as possible the corresponding branches of the upper and lower jaw of one side, fix- ing the teeth into the skin of the victim ; this done, and a secure hold taken, it advances the branche* of the opposite side, and so on alternately till the whole is gradually forced into the gullet, stretched almost to bursting. The poor frog is swallowed alive, and has been distinctly heard to utter its pe- culiar cry of distress some minutes after having been swallowed : this piteous cry it utters when chased by the snake, of which it has an instinctive terror ; when fairly seized, however, it gives itself up to its fate, and seldom attempts to struggle. Mr. Bell relates a curious circumstance of two snakes seizing one the hind-leg, the other the fore-leg of the same frog, and continuing their inroads upon the victim till their upper jaws met, and they bit each other in turn. After one or two such accidents, the most powerful of the snakes commenced shaking the other, which still had hold of the frog, with great violence from side to side. In a short time the other returned the attack, and this was repeated till the one which had the slightest hold was regu- lariy shaken off, when the victor swallowed his prey in quiet. The contest being over, a frog given to the unsuccessful combatant was immediately seized and swallowed. In taking birds, lizards, &c., the snake swallows them head foremost. After gorging its food it becomes lethargic, and continues in astate of inaction till the whole is digested, when it seeks a fresh supply. A celebrated naturalist, M. Schlegel, has ventured an opinion that snakes never drink : this is far from being correct. Dr. Cantor observes that the greater number of Indian serpents are partial to the water, and with the exception of the tree-snakes, not only drink, but moisten the tongue, which, as this organ is not situated immediately in the cavity of the mouth, becomes two different acts. The same has been observed respecting African serpents, and the same applies to our common snake. Not only does it drink, but it is extremely partial to milk : Mr. Bell states that a tame one in his possession was accustomed to come to his hand every morning for a draught of milk, which it did of its own accord, and both in England and on the Continent it is ac- cused of invading the precincts of the dairy in order to obtain its favourite beverage. Latreille says, " It is asserted that it is very fond of milk, and that it even makes its way into dairies for the purpose of drinking what is kept there, and further, that it sucks the teats of cows and sheep." The latter part of the story is decidedly the offspring of ignorance, but we believe the former part. We have heard it frequently affirmed by persons in the country, that snakes invade dairies for the sake of the milk, and that they have themselves witnessed them in the act of drinking it. Latreille states that this species sometimes'surprises young birds ; "for it climbs very easily : sometimes it suspends itselffrom the branches of trees, twisting its tail around them ; sometimes it hooks on by means of its head placed between the forks of a twig." We have seen, on more occasions than one, the snake entwined in the midst of the close-locked branches of an old hedge, but we do not believe that it ever climbs trees, nor does its long, slender, fine-drawn tail appear, as far as our experience goes, to possess that grasping power so remarkable in the short tail of the boa or python ; neither does it kill its prey by entwining them in its coiis. When irritated, the snake hisses, vibrates its " double tongue," and elevates its head ; its eyes sparkle, its body swells, and it emits a disgusting odour. It is, however, a timid animal, and is disposed rather to escape than oppose an enemy. That it can be tamed numerous experiments prove, and fur- tMii—LuKoon in Ow Ooili of Sukes. 2241, SHI, 2Si3.— Skull of Python. **«. — From tlie Tovnley Gallery. 108 M3».-SkeIeton of Boa Comttictot. 2248.— Stised Symbols of the Ancient Egyptians. 2247.— E»jptian» offering Bnnuin Sacrifice to Serpents. 2252,— Oddea Tree Smal e. 2249.— Common Adder and Kinged Soalie. Z2il, — Head and Tall of Common Snake. 2246.— Serpent-worship : from Pompeii. 109 no MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Boas. thcr, that it acquires feeling* of attachment to its protector. This was the case with one in Mr. Bell s possession, which when let out of its box would come to him and crawl under the sleeve of his coat, for the sake of the warmth. In the collection of the Zoological Society is the preserved skin of a snake which lived eleven years tame in the possession of a Mr. Christman, to whom it showed great attach- ment. " It is brought up," says Latreille, " in houses, and appears to be not insensible of the kind atten- tions of those who caress it, sippina: saliva from their lipa, and delighting to conceal itself under their dress, twining, without doing any injury, round their arms or neck. In Sardinia the young women, according to Laccp^de, tame the ringed snake, feed it themselves, putting into its mouth the food they have prepared ; and the inhabitanU of the country regard these snakes as animals of good omen, suffer them freely to enter their houses, and would think that they had driven fortune away if they had put to flight these innocent little creatures." (' Hist. Nat. des Reptiles.') Like all the rest, the ringed snake sheds its cuticle, assuming a more vivid colouring. The frequency of this change depends on the state of health and feeding of the animal. Mr. Bell states that he has known it cast its slough four or five times during the year; it is always thrown off by reversing it, the rent taking place at the neck : before this change the snake is inactive and blind, the cuticle covering the surface of the eyes, and which is shed with the rest, becoming opaque ; the whole slough is perfect, the animal slipping out, and assisting itself by creeping through thick brushwood. The snake passes the winter in a state of torpidity, choosing for a place of hybernation some sheltered retreat, either under decayed masses of wood, in the hollow roots of an aged tree, or beneath dense brushwood and dried herbage : here numbers often collect, coiling themselves together for the sake of preserving a due degree of temperature. The ringed snake seldom exceeds three feet in length, though we have seen continental specimens approaching four feet. The Prince of Canino, in his work on European reptiles, describes eighteen distinct species, besides varieties, exclusive of the present snake, as natives of the Continent ; of these the largest is the Elaphis quadrilineatus, which often attains to six feet in length. It is a native of Italy and Spain, and is pro- bably the boa of Pliny. We now come to certain snakes of arboreal habits, forming the group or subfamily Leptophina of Mr. Bell. They are characterized by their extreme length, slenderness, and flexibility. The eyes are large ; the gape is wide ; the dorsal scales are oval, those of the tail very small. With respect to these arboreal serpents Mr. Bell observes, that they all " live in woods, entwining themselves amongst the branches of the trees, and gliding with great rapidity and elegance from one to another. These habits, combined with the grace- ful slenderness of their form, the beautiful metallic reflexion from the surface in some species, and the bright and changeable hues in others, place them amongst the most interesting of the serpent tribe. Their food consists of large insects, young birds, &c., which the extraordinary size of the head, the width of the gape, and the great dilatability of the neck and body enable them to swallow, notwithstanding the small size of these parts in a state of rest: in a specimen in my possession of Dryinus auratus, for instance, the length of which is four feet nine inches, the diameter of the neck is hardly two lines. " When the skin is distended either by food or during inspiration, the scales are separated from each other, and the skin,, which is of a different co- lour, becomes visible in the interstices, producing a curious reticulated appearance. Notwithstanding the poisonous mark was affixed by Linnaeus to the only species of Dryinus known to him (Coluber myc- terizans), it is well ascertained that they are all of them perfectiv harmless ; and it is asserted of that species, that the children are in the habit of taming and playing with it, twining it round their necks and arms, and that the snakes appear pleased at being this caressed." I 2252.— Thb Goldks Tree-Snakk (Dryinus auratus). This beautiful species is a na- tive of Mexico ; its general colour is yellowish grey, gleaming with a pale golden hue, and dotted with whitish and black. Mr. Bell records three species of this genus as American, two natives of India, and one of Java. One of the Indian species, D. nasutus, is remarkable for a snout-like, slender, moveable appendage projecting from the muzzle, which in all is elongated and acute. 2233. — Thk Purplk Lkptophis (Leptophis purjnirascens). This species is a native of India. Its colour is violet passing into green. with a golden lustre ; a lateral and dorsal line of a paler hue. Head obtuse. Three species of this genus are Indian, one Ame- rican ; two species are Australian. 2254.— Thk Boiga (Dendrophis AliatuUa). In this genus, which is confined to India and Africa, the head is very slender, the eye large, the gape wide ; the scales along the flanks are narrow, appearing as if placed in oblique lines, while those along the ridge of the back are large. In our illustration, a shows the characters of the head and lateral scales, and b the disposition of the subcaudal plates. The Boiga is a native of Borneo, and is distin- guished for slenderness, activity, and beauty. The upper part of the body is blue with a metallic lustre, passing into emerald green ; a rich golden stripe runs down the spine, and another along each side. A black streak is behind each eye, and below this a white stripe occupies the edge of the upper jaw ; under parts blue. The Boiga, says Latreille, darts with arrow-like rapidity, throws itself instantaneously into folds, ascends the trees with the greatest facility, and there wreathing itself amidst the branches, displays the golden azure of its scales, glittering in the sun. It is very gentle, and the children of Borneo play with it, and suffer it to twine aroimd their limbs or body.; 2255.— Thb Dipsas (Dipsas cyanadon). In this genus the slender form and dispositiiin of the scales is much the same as in Dendrophis, but the body is greatly compressed, and the head large, far exceeding the slender neck to which it is attached. The species are all harmless and arboreal. The genus Dipsas of Laurenti is synonymous with the genus Bun^arus of Oppel, but not of Daudin, the latter appropnating it to a genus of venomous snakes. The ancients applied the term dipsas to a snake supposed to produce by its bite a burning thirst, the precursor of death. We now pass from the arboreal to other forms of the colubrine family. 225G. — The Capb Lycodon {Lycodon Capensis, Smith). This is a harmless little snake about fourteen inches long, a native of South Africa, living in damp situations, where decayed masses of wood and vegetable matters afford it easy means of concealment; for, as Dr. Smith observes, it is not endowed with the power of eifecting rapid movements. " When," says that naturalist, speaking of an individual captured among decayed wood near a small stream, " by the removal of some rotten masses the reptile was exposed, it moved slowly among the remaining ones in search of a place of concealment, and when it was inter- rupted in its advance it simply coiled itself up, without manifesting any disposition to resist the opposition offered ; a similar course I had pre- viously observed others of the same species pursue, when attempts were made to secure them, nor did they appear much in fear of their assailants." 2257. — The OutAR Cakron (Acrochordus Javanicus). Oular Carron of the Javanese. Though the only known species of the genus, this extraordinary serpent is the type of a distinct family (Acrochordidae, " Les Acrochordes" of Cuvier). It is easily distinguished by the head being covered with small scales, as is also the whole of the body, but they are separate from one another, and each is marked with three small ridges ; hence when it dis- tends its lungs and body with air, the skin seems as if beset with minute tubercles at a considerable distance asunder ; the body is thick, enlarging gra- dually as it proceeds, and then abruptly contracting at the base of the tail, which is short and slender. The tongue is short and thick. The general colour is black above, greyish white beneath and on the sides, which latter are spotted with black. It averages from six to ten feet in length. An indi- vidual exceeding eight feet was procured in Java by Hornstedt ; it was a female, and when opened was found to contain five young ones perfectly formed, and about nine inches long. It was cap- tured in a plantation of pepper, and the Chinese who accompanied Hornstedt cooked and ate its flesh, which they slated to be delicious. The stomach contained a quantity of half digested fruit, whence it has been inferred that, contrary to the rule among ophidian reptiles, it is of frugivorous habits. Cuvier, indeed, says, " Hornstedt a avanc6 a tort qu'elle vit de fruits, ce qui serait bien extra- ordinaire dans un serpent." But with deference to so great an authority, we may observe that no one, knowing only the general habits of the Saurian rep- tiles, but not acquainted with certain species that feed on leaves, would regard the iguana as herbi- vorous until the fact was aicertained ; and so may this snake be equally herbivorous, though tlie rest are carnivorous. Family BOIDjB (BOAS, PYTHONS). The Boids are huge snakes confined to the hotter regions of the globe, and formidable from their vast strength and mode of attack. They lurk in ambush and dart upon their victim, which in an instant is seized and enveloped in their folds, and crushed to death or strangled. For their predatory habits they are admirably adapted ; their teeth (see Fig. 2258, head of Boa canina) are terrible, and produce a dread- ful wound : the neck is slender, the body increasing gradually to about the middle in diameter, and then decreasing. The tail is a grasping instrument, strongly prehensile, and aided by two hook-like claws, sheathed with horn, externally visible on each side, beneath, just anterior to the base of the tail (see Fig. 2259, the under part of the base of the tail in the Boa canina). Though externalljr nothing beyond these spurs appear, internally is found a series of bones, representing those of the hinder limbs, but of course imperfectly developed ; yet they are acted upon by powerful muscles, and can be so used as to form a sort of antagonist to the tail while grasping any object ; they thus become a fulcrum giving additional force to the grasp, which secured thereby to a fixed point, gives double power to the animal's energy. These limbs removed are seen at Fig. 2260 : a represents the left limb of the boa seen anteriorly ; b, the same limb seen pos- teriorly ; a, the tibia or leg-bone ; b, the external bone of the tarsus ; c, the internal bone of the tar- sus ; d, the bone of the metatarsus ; e, the claw- bone. Fig. 2261 represents the tail of the boa with its rudimentary limb on one side in situ with the muscles exposed : a, the vent; h, the hook or spur on the left side ; c, the subcutaneous muscle ; d, ribs and intercostal muscles ; e, transverse muscle of the abdomen ; f, bone of the leg enveloped in its muscles; g, abductor muscle of the foot ; h, abductor muscle of the same. Hot mora'sses, swamps, the borders of rivers, and the tangled underwood of dank forests, are the favourite spots which these formidable serpents haunt ; often half floating in the water, concealed amidst luxuriant herbage, with the tail grasping some branch or adjacent tree, they wait for their prey ; the footsteps of their unsus- pecting victim are heard as it comes to quench its thirst ; the snake raises his head, glances upon his prey, then instantly lowers it, and prepares for the attack ; all is silent, the creature draws near — it stoops to drink ; suddenly, like a flash of lightning, the snake darts upon it ; the water is lashed to foam ; a cry of pain and terror, and all again is silent ; the animal is quivering in the coils of the mighty snake ; its life is soon crushed out. And now, gradually relaxing his accumulated folds and knots, the monster I disengages himself and prepares to gorge the prey; he glides round it with eyes glaring upon it ; ever and anon he touches it with his bifid quivering tongue, and soon commences to draw it in, beginning at the head, which first disappeai-s ; the mouth drips with a glutinous saliva : the jaws are all distorted ; the working of each is visible, and also of the muscles of the head and throat ; the skin of the neck is stretched, and appears as if it would burst the next instant, yet still the operation proceeds : so lost now is the snake to everything else, that it may be approached, struck, or even wounded, without ceasing its efforts, which increase with the difficulty occa- sioned by the bulky body of its prey. By slow and most energetic efforts, the whole at last is gorged ; and now the bloated monster quietly seeks his ac- customed retreat, and coiling himself round, sinks into a torpid state, which continues for a month ; when, reanimated and with renewed vigour he leaves his lair, and issues forth to lurk again in ambush, and seize another victim. Not only quadrupeds, but even large fishes fall a prey to these serpents ; they dart upon the latter as they approach the surface of the water, and drag them ashore. The Boidae indeed swim with great rapidity ; but they climb trees, and, as Hernan- dez says, vibrate to and fro, being fixed by the tail to a branch, " snatching men and boys and other animals of that kind, and sometimes devouring them whole." The species of the restricted genus Boa are all natives of the tropical regions of America, and are characterized by the plates on the under surface of the tail being single. All are most beautifully coloured, and gleam in the sun. Among the principal species are the following: — 2262.— The Emperor Boa (Boa constrictor). Le Devin, Daudin ; Constrictor formosissimus ; Constrictor Rex Serpentium ; Con- j stricter Auspex: Constrictor Diviniloquus. The latter names plainly indicate the superstitious feel- ' ings with which it was regarded by the Mexicans. Pythons.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. Ill 2283. — The Anaconda (Boa sq/tcde). Boa murina, Linn. ; Boa aquatica. Prince Maxim. Mr. Bennet observes, that the term Anaconda appears to be of Ceylonese origin, and ^ he applies it to the Python Tigris ; we, however, ■> follow Ciivier and most naturalists, who appropriate '■ it to the present species. 2264.— The Bojobi {Boa canina). Boa viridis, Boddart; Boa thalas- sina, Laurenti. 2265.— The Aboma (Boa cenchria, Linn.). Boa cenchris, Gmel. ; Boa cenchrya, Prince Maxim. In Boa constrictor the head is covered to the end of the muzzle with small scales like those of the body; there are no pits in the plates along the jaws. In Boa scytale the head has scaly plates from the eyes to the end of the muzzle ; no pits on the jaw- plates. In the Boa canina there are plates on the muzzle ; the sides of the jaw have a kind of slit under the eye and beyond it. In Boa cenchria there are scaly plates on the muzzle, and pits or dimples upon the plates of the jaws. Endowed with powers which in a semi-civilized state of society must operate powerfully on the mind ; at ease and freedom alike on the land, in the water, or among the trees : at once wily, daring, and irresistible in their attack, graceful in their move- ments, and splendid in their colouring, — that such creatures, to be both dreaded and admired, should become the objects of superstitious reverence, is scarcely to be wondered at. The ancient Mexicans regarded the boa as sacred ; they viewed its actions with religious horror; they crouched beneath the fiery glance of its eyes ; they trembled as they listened to its long-drawn hiss, and from various signs and movements predicted the fate of tribes or individuals, or drew conclusions of guilt or inno- cence. The supreme idol was represented encircled and guarded by sculptured serpents, before which were offered human sacrifices. ** On a blue throne, with four huge silver snakes. As if the keepers of the sanctuary. Circled, with stretching neck and fangs display'd, Mexitii sate ; another graven snake Belted with scales of gold his monster bulk." bUUTHEV. Often, however, the divinity was represented in the form of a huge serpent, with a human victim in his coils, or half ingulfed in his horrid jaws ; and the priests had tame boas of great size, with which they were familiar, and which they suffered to wreath round them, and thereby inspiring the people with wonder, fear, and servile obedience. Finely has the late Dr. Southey, in his poem of Madoc, depicted such an exhibition and its effects. Neolin, the priest of the snake-god, is a prisoner in the hands of Madoc and his party, when ** Forth from the dark recesses of the cave The serpent came ; the Hoamen at the sight Shoutecf ; and they who held the priest, appall'd, Relaxed their hold. On came the miglity snake. And twined in many a wreath round Neolin, Darting aright, alefk, his sinuous neck, With searching eve and lilted jaw, and tongue Quivering ; and hiss as of a heavy shower Upon the summer rvoods. The Britons stood .\atounded at the powerful reptile's bulk, And that strange sight. His girth was as of man, But easily could he have overtopp'd Goliath's helmed he^d ; or that huge king Of Basan, hugest of the Anakim. What tlien was human strength if once involv'd W'ithin those dreadful coils! The multitude Fell prone and worshipp'd." It is probably of the boa constrictor, the emperor, the devin, that Hernandez writes, under the name of Temacuilcahuilia, so called fiom its powers, the word meaning a fighter with five men. It attacks, he says, those it meets, and overpowers them with such force, that if it once coils itself around their necks it strangles and kills them, unless it bursts itself by the violence of its own efforts ; and he states that the only way of avoiding the attack is for the man to manage in such a way as to oppose a tree to the animals constriction, so that while the serpent supposes itself to be crushing the man, it may be torn asunder by its own act, and so die. We do not ask our readers for their implicit faith in this. He adds that he has himself seen serpents as thick as a man's thigh, which had been taken young by the Indians and tamed ; they were provided with a cask strewn with litter in the place of a cavern, where they lived, and were for the most part quies- cent, except at meal-times, when they came forth, and amicably climed about the couch or shoulders of their master, who placidly bore the serpent's em- brace. They often coiled up in folds, equalling a large cart-wheel in size, and harmlessly received their food. In most accounts current respecting the mode in which boas and pythons take their food, the snake, after crushing its prey, is described as hcking the body with its tongue and lubricating it with saliva, in order to facilitate the act of deglutition. It has been observed with justice, that few worse in- struments for such a purpose than the slender dark forked tongue of these snakes could have been con- trived; and that, in fact, the saliva does not begin to be poured out abundantly till required to lubri- cate the jaws and throat of the animal straining to ingulf the carcass. We have seen these snakes take their food, but they did not lubricate it, though the vibratory tongue often touched it; we must, therefore, withhold our credence from the common assertion. The size attained bv the boa is often very great, and larger individuals than any now seen occurred formeriy, before their ancient haunts had been in- vaded by human colonization. One killed in Suri- nam by Captain Steadman, though asserted by the natives to be young, measured upwards of twenty- two feet in length, and yielded four gallons of fine oil, exclusive of as much or more wasted. A specimen apparently of the Boa scytale, called in Venezuela "La Culebra de Agua," or water- serpent, and also "El Traga Venado," or deer- swallower, which measures nineteen feet and a half in length, was presented by Sir Robert Ker Porter to the United Service Museum. He states that ' ' The flesh of this serpent is white and abundant in fat. The people of the plains never eat it, but make use of the fat as a remedy for rheumatic pains, ruptures, strains, &c." "This serpent," says Sir R. K. Porter, "is not venomous nor known to injure man (at least not in this part of the New World) ; however, the natives stand in great fear of it, never bathing in waters where it is known to exist. Its common haunt, or rather domicile, is invariably near lakes, swamps, and rivers ; likewise close wet ravines produced by inundations of the periodical rains : hence, from its aquatic habits, its first appellation. Fish, and those animals which repair there to drink, are the objects of its prey. The creature lurks watchfully under cover of the water, and, whilst the unsuspecting animal is drinking, suddenly makes a dash at the nose, and with a grip of its back-reclining double range of teeth never fails to secure the terrified beast beyond the power of escape." It would appear that boas are apt to be carried out to sea by sudden floods, and are sometimes drifted alive on distant coasts. The Rev. Lans- dovvn Guilding (writing in the Island of St. Vin- cent) says, ' ' A noble specimen of the boa constrictor was lately conveyed to us by the currents, twisted round the trunk of a large sound cedar tree, which had probably been washed out of the bank, by the floods of some great South American river, while its huge folds hung on the branches as it waited for its prey. The monster was fortunately destroyed after killing a few sheep, and his skeleton now hangs before me in my study, putting me in mind how much reason I might have had to fear in my future rambles through St. Vincent, had this formidable reptile been a pregnant female and escaped to a safe retreat." The Pythons closely resemble the true boas, but have the subcaudal plates double ; the muzzle is sheathed with plates, and those covering the mar- gins of the jaws have pits. These snakes, which equal or exceed the boas in magnitude, are natives of India, Africa, and Australia. Pliny speaks of snakes in India of such a size as to be capable of swallowing stags and bulls; and Valerius Maximus, quoting a lost portion of Pliny's work, narrates the alarm into which the troops under Regulus were thrown by a serpent which had its lair on the banks of the river Bagradas, between Utica and Carthage, and which intercepted the passage to the river. It resisted ordinary weapons, and killed many of the men ; till at last it was destroyed by heavy stones thrown from military engines used in battering walls : its length is stated as a hundred and twenty- three feet. Regulus carried its skin and jaws to Rome, and deposited them in one of the temples, where they remained till the time of the Numantine war. Diodorus Siculus relates the account of the cap- ture of a serpent, not without loss of life, in Egypt, which measured thirty cubits long ; it was taken to Alexandria. Suetonius speaks of a serpent exhi- bited at Rome in front of the Comitium, fifty cubits in length. Though we do not refuse credit to these narra- tives, it must be added that in modern days we have not seen serpents of such magnitude : yet they may exist. Bontius observes that some of the Indian pythons exceed thirty-six feet in length, and says that they swallow wild boars, adding, "there are those alive who partook, with General Peter Both, of a recently swallowed hog cut out of the belly of a serpent of this kind." These snakes, he observes, are not poisonous, but strangle a man or other ani- mal by powerful compression. The Ular-Sawa, or Great Python of the Sunda Isles, is said to exceed. when full-grown, thirty feet in length ; and il ia nar- rated that a " Malay prow being anchored for the night under the Island of Celebes, one of tlie crew went ashore, in search of betel nut, and, as was sup- posed, fell asleep on the beach, on his return. In the dead of the night his companions on board were roused by dreadful screams ; they immediately went ashore, but they came too late, the cries had ceased — the man had breathed his last in the folds of an enormous serpent, which they killed. They cut off the head of the snake and carried it, together with the lifeless body of their comrade, to the vessel; the right wrist of the corpse bore the marks of the serpent's teeth, and the disfigured body showed that the man had been crushed by the constriction of the reptile round the head, neck, breast, and thigh." Mr. McLeod in his ' Voyage of H.M.S. Alceste,' after describing the mode in which a python on board, sixteen feet in length, crushed and gorged a goat, the distressing cries of which on being intro- duced into the serpent's cage could not but excite compassion, goes on to say that during a cap- tivity of some months at Whidah, in the kingdom of Dahomey, on the coast of Africa, he had op- portunities of observing pythons of more than double that size, and which were capable of swal- lowing animals much larger than goats or sheep. " Governor Abson," he adds, " who had for thirty- seven years resided at Fort William (one of the African Company's settlements there), desc ries some desperate struggles which he has seen, or which had come to his knowledge, between the snakes and wild beasts, as well as the smaller cattle, in which the former were always victorious. A negro herds- man belonging to Mr. Abson (and who afterwards limped for many years about the fort) had been seized by one of these monsters by the thigh ; but from his situation in a wood, the serpent in at- tempting to throw himself round him got entangled with a tree ; and the man being thus preserved from a state of compression, which would instantly have rendered him quite powerless, had presence of mind enough to cut, with a large knife which he carried about with him, deep gashes in the neck and throat of his antagonist, thereby killing him, and disen- gaging himself from his frightful situation. He never afterwards, however, recovered the use of that limb, which had sustained considerable injury from the fangs and mere force of his jaws." Ludolph states that enormous snakes exist in Ethiopia ; and Bosman informs us that entire men have been found in the gullet of serpents on the Gold coast. In the ' Oriental Annual ' is the follow- ing narrative, explanatory of a well-known picture by Mr. W. Daniell : — " A few years before our visit to Calcutta," says the writer, "the captain of a country ship while passing the Sunderbunds sent a boat into one of the creeks to obtain some fresh fruits, which are cultivated by the few miserable inhabitants of this inhospitable region. Having reached the shore the crew moored the boat under a bank, and left one of their party to take care of her. During their absence the lascar who remained in charge of the boat, overcome by heat, lay down under the seats and fell asleep. Whilst he was in this happy state of unconsciousness an enormous boa (python) emerged from the jungle, reached the boat, had already coiled its huge body round the sleeper, and was in the very act of crushing him to death, when his companions fortunately returned at this auspicious moment, and attacking the monster, severed a portion of its tail, which so disabled it that it no longer retained the power of doing mis- chief The snake was then easily despatched, and was found to measure, as stated, sixty-two feet and some inches in length." It is hardly probable that the snake had fairly entwined round the man, for the sudden compression of the chest, had the snake exerted its strength, would have been almost in- stantly fatal. We need not enter into the painful and revolting details of the mode in which the goat was crushed and gorged on board the Alceste, the account of which is given by Mr. McLeod, and has been often tran- scribed; suffice it to say, that with astonishing velocity, like a flash which dazzles and is gone, the goat was rigidly encircled in the monster's knotted folds, and afterwards gradually swallowed ; the ap- pearance of the snake, with the throat swelled out as if about to burst, and the jaws dripping with saliva, being hideous and disgusting. In March, 1841, a singular circumstance occurred at the gardens of the Zoological Socieiy, which at the same time caused no little surprise. A python eleven or twelve feet long, and one about nine feet long, were kept together in a well-secured cage ; both had been fed one evening, the larger one with three guinea-pigs and a rabbit ; but, as it would ap- pear, his appetite was unsatiated. The next morn- ing when the keeper came to look into the cage, the smaller python was missing — its escape was impos- sible— and the question was what had become of it ? The truth was evident— its larger companion had 22(1.— Emperor Bou SSM.— DijMu. 2263.— Anaconila. S!S(.— Cape Lycodon. 112 2204.-I!oiga. 2261. -Tail of Cca. 2568 Port-Nntal Python. »267.— Boa Conslrictor. tdVJ, 2270.— Bengal Eiyx. ^0, 65. Vol. IL 2S6«.— TigCTPjUlOD. 22T..-Teiitacled Herfeton. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 113 114 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Vipers. Kwallowed it. There it lay torpid, and bloated to double its ordinary dimensions. How it accom- plished the act is not known, but we may imagine a fearful strapele to have taken place, as wreathing round each other they battled for the mastenr; un- less, indeed, the victim was itself torpid, and inca- pable of resistance. 2266.— Thb Tiokr-Python (Python tujrit). This splendid species is a native of India and Java, and is often brought over to England for exhibition. It was, we believe, from one of this species that Mr. Cops, the keeper of the lion office, was in imminent danger, as narrated by Mr. Broderip. The animal was near shedding its skin, and consequently nearly blind, for the skm of the eye, which is shed' with the rest of the slough, becomes then opaque, when Mr. Cops, wishing it to feed, held a fowl to its head. The snake darted at the bird, but missing it, seized the keeper by the left thumb, and coiled round his arm and neck in a moment. Mr. Cops, who was alone, did not lose . his presence of mind, and immediately attempted to relieve himself of the powerful constriction by getting at the snake's head. But the serpent had so knotted himself on his own head, that Mr. Cops could not reach it, and had thrown himself on the floor in order to grapple with a better chance of success, when two other keepers coming in broke the teeth of the serpent, and with some difficulty relieved Mr. Cops from his perilous situation. Two broken teeth were extracted from the thumb, which soon healed, and no material inconvenience was the result of this frightful adventure. Fiff. 22C7 represents one of these pythons in the act of darting upon a small animal. 22G8. — The Port-Natal Python {Python natalensis). This snake is a native of South Africa, where it was discovered by Dr. Andrew Smith, who observes, that either this species, or one very like it and of equal size, was formerly an inhabitant of the districts now within the Cape colony, and that the traditions of the older Hottentots abound with instances of its miraculous powers. At present, he says, it is not to be found within hundreds of miles of the boundaries of the colony, and few specimens nave been obtained nearer than Port Natal. He informs us that it occasionally attains a very large size, and, accordinsr to the natives, individuals have been seen whose circumference was equal to that of the body of a stout man : Dr. Smith himself saw a skin which measured twenty-five feet, though a portion of the tail part was deficient. " It feeds," he continues, " upon quadrupeds, and for some days after swallowing food it remains in a torpid state, and may then be easily destroyed. The South Africans, however, seldom avail themselves of rid- ding themselves of a reptile they view with honor, as Uiey believe that it has a certain influence over their destinies ; and affirm that no person has ever been known to maltreat it without, sooner or later, paying for his audacity." Fig. 2269 represents the upper surface of the head. It would appear from the same authority that a python common in India (P. bivittatus) is found also in Western Africa ; and that specimens from the latter locality are in the museum at Fort Pitt, Chatham. 2270. — The Bengal Eryx {Eryx bengalensis). The genus Eryx was first se- parated from boa by Daudin ; it differs in having a very short obtuse tail, and in wanting the hooks at the base ; the ventral scuta are narrow ; the head is short, and scarcely exceeds the neck, and is covered above with small scales. Of the habits of this spe- cies little is known. Fig. 2270 includes a delineation of the abdominal and subcaudal plates. 2271. — Thb Tehtacled Hebpeton (Herpeton tentaculatus). Erpeton tentaculatus, Lacd- pcde ; Rhinopirus tentaculatus, Merrem. In this remarkable snake, an example of the genus Herpeton, the muzzle is furnished with two soft ap- pendages, covered with scales ; the head is covered with large plates ; the abdominal scuta are small ; the tail is long and pointed, and covered beneath with the same kind of scales (squamae) as above. There are no hooks or rudimentary limbs. Of the use of the two singular appendages to the muzzle vre can give no account, nor are the peculiar habits of this snake understood. With the figure are delineations of the head, and under surface of the tail. 2272 —The Kakoo Bokadam (Coluber Cerberus, Daudin). Genus Cerberus of Cuvier. Cuvier places the genus Cerberus near the py- thons, observing that, as in those serpents, the whole of the head is covered with scales, the anterior por- tion only, including the eyes, being protected by plates (see Fig. 2273, the Head of Cerberus). There are no hooks, and the sulicaudal plates are some- times double, sometimes simple. Russell, who describes this species in his work on Indian serpents, obser^'es that the head, though somewhat broader than the neck, yet appears small in proportion to the trunk : a little convex above, compressed on the sides, and projecting into a short obtuse snout, on which the eyes and nostrils are situated. The snout is covered with small laminae of various forms, the rest of the head with small sub- orbicular carinated scales. The mouth is not large ; the jaws are nearly of equal length ; the teeth close set, regular, small, reflex ; a marginal and two palatal rows in the upper jaw. The eyes vertical, small, orbicular, protuberant ; each situated in the centre of a remarkable circle of small triangular laminae. The nostrils very small, vertical, near to each other, and close to the apex of the muzzle. The trunk is thick, round, covered with large cari- nated oval scales. Length three feet four inches. General colour dark grey above ; the head almost black, under parts dusky yellow. Dr. Russell adds, that his specimen, from which the figure is taken, was sent from Gangam in July, 1788, and that he never saw one alive. He remarks that, notwithstanding its suspicious appearance, the want of poison organs proves that the snake is not formidable. An allied species, Cerberus cinereus. Cantor, is described in the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1839, p. 55. It is a native of Bengal, where it is termed by the inhabitants Jul Ginthea. From the innoxious serpents we may now pass to the section containing the venomous races. There is something peculiarly repulsive in the appearance of venomous serpents ; their thick broad head, their sparkling eyes, and their wide jaws, give them a ferocious expression, from which we involuntarily recoil. They appear as if confident of their deadly weapons, and when irritated or opposed assume an attitude of defiance, and prepare to inflict the fatal stroke. All are ovoviviparous. If we examine the skull of one of these deadly reptiles we shall find it modified very differently from that of the non- venomous races, on many important points. Let us take the skull of the Rattlesnake as an example. See Fig. 2274. In the firet place, the upper maxillary bones or jaws, which in the python and common snake, &c., we see long, thousrh free, and armed with a row of teeth, are each reduced to a short rounded bone, in which the poison fang is implanted ; this bone is moveable or rotatory, and is supported posteriorly by a long slender pedicle, the external pterygoid bone, also moveable, governed by certain muscles ; hence it follows, that when this slender bone is retracted, the small maxillary bone rotates backwards, and the poison fang is received into a fold of the gum fitted for its reception ; but when the external pterygoid is pushed forward, the maxillary bone rotates anteriorly, and the poison fang is thrown forwards ready to inflict the wound. Behind this poison fang there are germs undeveloped, ready on its loss to occupy its place, at least after the lapse of a short period. Passing from the maxillary to the palatine bones, to which the external pterygoids are articulated, we see them furnished with a row of ordinary simple teeth. The lower jaw is long and slender, and articulated to the skull by a long and slender tympanic and a slender mastoid bone, all moveable, whence the gape of the jaws is very wide. The lower jaw is armed anteriorly with simple teeth. With respect to the structure of the poison fangs, we must observe that they are so constructed as to enclose a tube or channel, leading from a large poison gland, and conveying the deadly fluid to the very bottom of the wound. This tube is not pierced through the substance of the fans:, but is exterior to it, and formed by a fold of its edges, which are .sol- dered together. This pecuiiarity is well described by Professor Owen, who observes that " a true idea of its structure may be formed by supposing the crown of a simple tooth, as that of a boa, to be pressed flat, and its edges to be then bent towards each- other, and soldered together, so as to form a hollow cylinder open at both ends. The flattening of the fang, and its inflexion around the poison duct, commence immediately above the base, and the suture of the inflected margins runs along the an- terior and convex side of the recurved fang : the poison canal is thus in front of the pulp cavity." Such is an outline of the structural peculiarities in the jaws of the more typical poisonous snakes, as Vipera, Naja, Crotalus, Trigonocephalus. In others, however, there is a row of teeth more or less nu- merous, behind the poison fangs, and in the upper maxillary bones. In all the family of marine ser- pents, the poison fang is only the foremost of a row of fixed maxillary teeth ; four or five in number on each side. Such is also the case in some of the terrestrial genera, as Bungarus, in which there are from three to five grooved teeth, behind the great fangs ; and in Hamadnr'as, the huge poisonous tree- snakes of India, in which the same peculiarity oc- curs. Hence Cuvier divides the venomous serpents into such as have isolated poison fangs, and into such as have other maxillary teeth also. Fig. 2273 represents the poison gland, its duct, and the fang of the Trigonocephalus : a, a, the Poison Gland; b, the Duct; c, the Fang; the letter indicates the position of the slit from which the poison passes into the wound. " The poison glands," says Professor Owen, " occupy the sides of the pos- terior half of the head ; each consists of a number of elongated narrow lobes, extending from the main duct, which runs along the lower border of the gland, upwards and slightly backwards; each lobe gives off lobules throughout its extent, thus presenting a pinnatifid structure; and each lobule is subdivided into smaller secerning caeca, which constitute the ultimate structure of the gland. The whole gland is surrounded by a double aponeurotic capsule, of which the outermost and strongest layer is in con- nection with the muscles by whose contraction the several cseca and lobes of the gland are compressed and emptied of their secretion. This is then con- veyed by the duct to the basal aperture of the poison canal of the fang. We may suppose that, as the lachrymal and salivary glands are most active during particular emotions, so the rage which sti- mulates the venom-snake to use its deadly weapon must be accompanied with an increased secretion, and great distention of the poison glands; and as the action of the compressing muscles is contempo- raneous with the blow by which the serpent inflicts its wound, the poison is at the same moment in- jected with force into the wound from the apical outlet of the perforated fang." It would appear that one venomous serpent can kill another by the bite, at least if it be of a distinct species : for it seems that individuals of the same species may bite each other with impunity. We believe also, that if in its rase a serpent bites itself, no symptoms are produced. Russell says that Cobras bite each other without any consequence ascribable to the poison, but they kill other snakes. The huge poisonous Hamadryas of India, often twelve feet in length, habitually preys upon other serpents, darting at them, and killing them by poison, after which it gorges them. The Naja of Southern Africa has been known to kill and swallow the poisonous puff-adder (Vipera arietans) ; and it is asserted that the rattle-snake will seize and kill the poisonous Moccasin snake, and afterwards swallow it. The poison of serpents acts more or less quickly and decidedly, according to the species, the vigour of the individual, the quantity thrown into the wound, and the season of the year. Contrary to what Fon- tana and M. Schlegel assert (who says it is neither acid nor alkaline), the poison of these reptiles turns litmus-paper red, invariably displaying acid pro- perties. (See Cantor, ' Zool. Proceeds.' 18.37, p. 75, note ; and Harlan, ' Med. and Phys. Research.' p. 501, sq.) It is a remarkable fact that, as far as hitherto tested, the poison of snakes may be swallowed with impunity, provided there be no abrasion of the skin of the lips, or any part of the mouth ; hence when a person is bitten by one of the reptiles, the best way, if a cupping-glass be not at hand, or cannot be ap- plied, is to suck the wound as forcibly as possible. With this fact Celsus was well acquainted. His words are, " Those persons who are called Psylli have not indeed any special knowledge, but bold- ness confirmed by habit ; for the poison of a serpent is not injurious when tasted, but when instilled into a wound. Therefore, whoever, following the ex- ample of the Psyllus, will suck the wound, will be both safe himself, and save the sufferer. But this point must be fairly settled, that no ulcer be either in the gums, the palate, or any part of the mouth." With respect to the various specifics so confidently recommended, they are of no use. .Ammonia used as an internal medicine after the poison is drained from the wound, and the free application of olive oil, appear to be the most efficacious; the great aim must be to keep up the energies of the system ; to extract the poison, or neutralise if possible its active properties. I' ortunately only one poisonous snake, the bite of which is however seldom fatal, exists in our island, viz. the Viper. 2276, 2277.— The Viper (Pelif's Bertis). Adder ; Vipera vulgaris, Latr. ; Vipeiii communis. Leach. The characters of the head are seen at Fig. 2278. The common viper is spread over Europe, and is tolerably frequent in many parts of England, giving j preference to dry woods, sandy heaths, peat lands I and sunny banks, and similar places. In Scotland ■ it is more numerous than the common snake. In some parts of Yorkshire vipers are abundant, and Vipjius. i MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 115 they are so in all the chalk counties. Vipers vary ejii5iderab]v in colour ; hence we have the black vnier. the blue-bellied viper, the red viper, the com- mon viper, &c., which some naturalists have ven- tured to regard as distinct species^whereas the iiuth is they are mere vaiieties, as is now satisfacto- rily demonstrated. "Happily lor us. this is our only venomous reptile ; and, dreaded as it is, it is by no means so dangerous as reported. It never commences an attack, and turns to bite only when driven to self-defence or suddenly molested ; nor is its bite necessarily fatal. We have ourselves known persons bit by vipers — one a relative ; he was punctured on the thumb : the part swelled and inflamed, and the inflammation (wi;h considerable pain and constitutional irritation) ascended the absorbents to the axillary glands; with a little care, however, in a few days, every bad symp- tom v,as removed. We have, indeed, heard of cases in which death has resulted from a viper's bite, but we have never been able positively to authenticate an instance, though we are willing to admit that, as tlie effects are much more severe in some instances than in others, persons of a highly excitable or feeble temperament may have sunk under the action of the poison, especially if the animal was in full vigour and activity when it inflicted the wound. Small animals, as mice, rats, birds, &c., are im- mediately aftected by the poison, and soon perish. The viper often attempts to swallow prey too large to pass down the oesophagus. Mr. Bell has in his possession a small viper from Poole Heath, in Dor- s-etshire, which was taken in a dying state, having loiced down amouse, which had caused the skin of the ueck to burst in several places. Mr. J. C. Cox found a viper in the neighbourhood of Lausanne, which had swallowed a common lizard nearly as long as itself, and which had forced a hole through the side of the viper, one of its fore-legs protruding. (' Mag. Nat. Hist.,' 1838, p. 238.) The viper is ovoviviparous, the young being ex- cluded from the egg previously to parturition. So requisite is the heat of the sun for this develop- ment of the young, that the female viper may be often seen extended in the genial rays, basking with flattened body, and unwilling to remove from the spot on the approach of danger. The young vary in number from ten to twenty, and are alert and active from their birth. We have often heard it a.sserted, though we have never been able to verify the statement, that the young vipers when alarmed hastily retire within the mouth of their parent, and lodge in the stomach or oesophagus till the danser is passed. To this cir- cumstance Mr. Bell, in his work on British reptiles, makes no allusion. Mr. Blyth (See Loudon's ' Mag. Xat. Hist.,' 1837, p. 441) observes respecting it, " I have been informed of this by so many credible eye- witnesses, that 1 cannot hesitate in yielding implicit credence to the fact. One man particularly, on whose word I fully rely, tells me that he has himself seen as many as thirteen young vipers thus enter the mouth of their parent, which he afterwards killed, and opened for the purpose of counting them. The following extract shows that the habit is com- mon to other venomous serpents, all of which are, I believe, without exception, ovoviviparous. It is stated of the rattle-snake, in Hunter's ' Memoirs of a Captivity among the North American Indians,' that • when alarmed, the young ones, which are eight or ten in number, retreat into the mouth of the parent, and reappear on its giving a contractile muscular token that the danger is passed.' " Gilbert White says, " Several intelligent folks assure me that they have seen the viper open her mouth to admit her helpless young down the throat on sudden surprises, just as a female opossum does her brood into the pouch upon the like emergencies ; and yet the Lon- don viper-catchers insist on it to Mr. Barrington that no such thing ever happens." When evidence is thus contradictory, it is difficult to know what to believe. We have seen vipers oft. but we never saw the occurrence in question, nor do we know any naturalist who has himself seen it. Mr. Blyth, who devoted much time to the out-door study of our native animals, never witnessed it himself, though he believes it upon report. It has been well ob- served that much related concerning the habits of reptiles seems to be as confused as it is inexact. "Country-people, besides being inexact in their ac- counts (although their occupations afford them good and frequent opportunities for making observations), are seldom to be depended upon : they are not nice observers of that which does not immediately affect their concerns ; and disgust, or fiar, or indifference incapacitates them from taking accurate notice : and these feelings induce contradiction, confusion, and exaggeration. Viper-catchers may be better autho- rities, as from use they overcome the not unnatural repugnance to these animals ; but in their case, accuracy depends entirely upon individual intelli- gence, and, except the reporters be unexceptionable, their statements ought to be cautiously received." Vol. II, The viper hybernates, several entwining together in a deep hole, or other secure lurking-place, and passing tne winter in a state of torpidity. In many parts of England the viper is better known by the name of adder, anciently, says Mr. Bell, written nedre, and afterwards eddre ; it is from the Anglo-Saxon noedre, nether, lower — a far-fetched derivation, and we agree with Mr. J. Biadon that there is one much nearer at hand, viz. neidr, the ancient British and modern Welsh name for the reptile in question. In the plural form it is much more apparent, nadroedd, applied both to the viper and common snake. We shall conclude our observations on the viper by alluding to two singular superstitions connected with this reptile — perhaps not yet altogether passed away. From the earliest times the flesh of the viper was celebrated (like that of the skink, a kind of lizard) in the cure of various diseases, and is praised by Pliny and Galen. The ancients generally served the animal, boiled, like fish ; but in our country viper-broth was the preparation in request. In Eng- land these reptiles were caught by means of a stick with a fork or cleft at one end, for pinning the ani- mal down, just behind the head : the man then seized the struggling reptile by the tail, and put it into a bag : and in this way the shops of the apothecaries were supplied. Many persons have heard of the ovum anguinum of Pliny— the glein neidr of the ancient British — the adder-gem or adder-stone. These celebrated charms for curing various diseases are nothing more than antique blue, green, or striped glass beads of various sizes, and perforated. Pliny attributed their pro- duction to snakes convoluted together in summer, and notices the statement of the Druids with regard to their mystic production ; and Mason, in his ' Ca- ractacus,' gives this Druid's song : — " From tlie gr.it of charms and spells, Where our matron sister dwells, Brennns, has thy holy hand Safely brought the Druid wand. And tile potent Adder-stone, Gender'd 'fore the autumnal raoon ? When in undulating twine The foaming snaltes prolific join, ^Vhen they hiss, and when they bear Their wondrous egg aloft in air ; Thence, before to eartii it fall, ITie Druid in bis hallowed pall Keceives the priie. And instant tlies Followed by the invenom'd brood. Till he cross the crystal flood." Pennant says, "Our modern Druidesses give much the same account of the ovum anguinum (Glein Neidr, as the Welsh call it ; or the adder-gem) as the Roman philosopher does ; but seem not to have so exalted an opinion of its powers, using it only to assist children in cutting their teeth, or to cure the hooping-cough, or drive away an ague." Some of these ancient beads are seen at Fig. 2279. A species of viper, called El EfFah (apparently identical with the Hebrew word " Ephah," translated viper), is described and figured in Jackson's ' Ma- roceo,' as one of the most common and venomous of serpents in North Africa and South-Western Asia. " It is about two feet long and as thick as a man's arm, beautifully spotted with yellow and brown, and sprinkled over with blackish specks. They have a wide mouth, by which they inhale a great quantity of air, and when inflated they eject it with such force, as to be heard to a considerable distance." He adds, that they abound in the desert of Suse, where their holes are extremely numerous. Capt. Riley, in his ' Authentic Narrative ' (1817), describes their colours as beautiful, and says that Jackson's engraving is very correct. Our Fig. 2280, copied from .lackson, represents this species, which is probably the Vipera ^gypti- aca of Latreille. 2281. — The Unadorned Viper ( Vipera [Echidna] inornata, Smith). In the sub- genus Echidna, the top of the head is wholly tsovered with small imbricated scales. The present species is a native of South Africa ; but little, according to Dr. Smith, is known of its habits, excepting that, like the other species of the genus, it is indolent and heedless of the approach of man ; indeed, he adds, the vipers, and one or two species of Eiaps, are the only snakes of South Africa which permit themselves generally to be approached without evincing any apparent concern ; the others manifest a disposition to act on the defensive, or fly. Even an unusual noise is sure to cause the retreat of the innocuous ones. The najas are always ready for fight, and when their haunts are invaded, acU vance upon the intruder with the head and anterior part of the body almost perpendicular, the neck expanded, and an expression sufficiently indicative of the malignant purpose they have in view. " To witness such a proceeding," he continues, "once fell to my own lot. Walking in the vicinity of Graham's Town, I happened to excite the attention ofaNaja Haemachates, which immediately raised its head, and warned me of my danger by the strength of its expiration ; it then commenced an advance, and had I not retired, I should in all probability have suffered, provided I had not been fortunate enough to disable it ; which probably would not have hap- pened, considering that the species, in common with others of the same genus, is extremely active. Even though I retired, I was not satisfied that the danger was past, as the flight of this snake's enemy does not always put a stop to its advance when once com- menced. An officer of the Cape Corps, upon whose authority the most implicit reliance was to be placed, informed me that he once was chased twice round his waggon by an individual of the same species, and the pursuit might have been prolonged had not a Hottentot disabled the enraged reptile by a blow from a long stick." The unadorned vijier is about thirteen inches in length : its general colour above is yellowish brown ; under parts dusky yellow sparingly sprinkled with brownish dots. 2282. — The South African Cerastes (Cerastes caudalis, Smith). The genus Cerastes is distinguished among the vipers, by a little pointed horn rising from the upper margin of each eye. One species is a native of Egypt, Libya, &c., but the present was discovered in South Africa by Dr. A. Smith. In these snakes, the head is broad and very distinct from the neck, the body thick, the tail taper. Fig. 2283 represents the Head and Tail of Cerastes caudalis. This species inhabits dry sandy districts, and mani- fests the ordinary indolence of character common to the vipers ; on which account, says Dr. Smith, " they are more dreaded by the native of South Africa than even snakes possessed of more virulent poison, but disposed to action on the approach of clanger. According to good testimony, this species will continue for days together in one position, and as it never seeks to avoid danger, however imminent, its presence is rarely discovered unless when trampled upon, and the offending party is wounded by its fangs. Though inactive, it is by no means so when injured ; its movements are then performed with activity ; and when once it seizes the obnoxious object, it retains its hold with great determination, and some considerable exertion is often required to detach it. The same may be said of most of the vipers, in which respect they differ materially from naia." This species is about fourteen inches long. The upper parts are yellowish red, variously spotted and marked with orange brown and other tints. The under parts are pale rose red, with a pearly lustre. 2284, 2285.— The Egyptian Cerastes (Cerastes; — Vipera cerastes). This species, as well as the Cobra or Haj6, was well known to the Egyptians of antiquity, and figures of it occur abundantly in their temples: it is this species be- yond doubt of which Herodotus speaks in the fol- lowing passage:— " There are about Thebes sacred serpents entirely innoxious to man ; they are of diminutive size, and have two horns sprouting from the crown of the head ; when they die, they are buried in the temple of Jupiter, to whom they are said to be sacred." Herodotus was in error in say- ing that these snakes are innoxious ; he had perhaps only examined fame ones, from which the poison fangs had been carefully extracted. In its manners this species precisely resembles the preceding : it inhabits the sandy desert, where in ruts or depressions it will lie quietly for days, luxuriating in the heat of the sun ; and as its colours assimilate with those of the surface on which it re- poses, there is danger of treading accidentally upon it, at the risk of a wound. It appears to have considerable powers of en- during hunger and thirst ; probably it never drinks : its food consists of insects, small reptiles, mice, &c. Bruce states that he kept two of these snakes in a glass jar for two years, without giving them any food ; they did not appear to become torpid in winter, and cast their slough at the close of April. Speaking of the partiality of these animals for heat, he says that though the sun was burning-hot all day, yet " when we made a fire at night by dig- ging a hole and burning wood to charcoal in it for dressing our victuals, it was seldom that we had fewer than half a dozen of these vipers, which burned themselves to death by approaching the embers." " The poison," he adds, " is very copious for so small a creature ; it is fully as large as a drop of lauda- num dropped from a phial by a careful hand. I compelled one to scratch eighteen pigeons upon the thigh, and all died in nearly the same interval of time. " The cerastes moves with great rapidity and in all directions, forwards, backwards, and sideways. When it inclines to surprise any one who is too far from it, it creeps with its side toward the person Q 2 ^jl^HB^nnhf^^ «na«-ii«A«rOHtNm. nAP) «^ tSni, — Tooth and Poison Gland of Trigonocephalui, nn.— Karoo Uokadam. ttrs Bmi of viper. «T*.— Addor-Stonei. 2281.— Unadorned Viper. ' 2274.-SkQll of Battlesnake. MTT.— Tipetaad Yoinj 2283.— Head and Tail of Cerastes. Sm.— Viper. »k»j.— " El ElWi :" Viper. 2m.— So ith AfHcan Cerastes. 116 cTr^ 2886 Head of Naja. 2990.— Indiu I^ja. 22:iI.-Indian Na 22S4.— Egyptian Cerastes . 2285. — Kgvptiaa Ct-rastes. «28».— Hood of Sa:a. 228T.— Hood of Naja. 118 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Najas. «nd its head averted, till judf^nt: its distance, it turns round, springs upon him, and fastens upon the part next to it ; Vor it is not true that the cerastes does not leap or sprin([f.. I »aw one of them at Cairo crawl up the side of a box in which there were many, and there lie still as if bidinfr himself, till one of tho people who brought them to us came near him ; and though in a very disadvantageous posture, sticking as it were perpendicular to the side of the box, it leaped near thu distance of three feet, and fastened between the man's finger and thumb, so as to bring the blood. The fellow showed no signs either of pain or fear; and we kept him with us for full four hours without his applying any sort of remedy, or seeming inclined to do so. To make myself assured that the reptile was in its perfect state, I made the man hold it by the neck, so as to force open its mouth and lacerate the thigh of a peli- can, a bird as big as a swan. The bird died in about thirteen minutes, though it was apparently affected in about fifty seconds." As a proof of the power ■which the snake-charmers have of handling poison- ous snakes with impunity, the same traveller says, " I have seen at Cairo a man who came from above the Catacombs, where the pits of the mummy-birds are, who has taken a cerastes with his naked hand from a number of others at the bottom of a tub, put it upon his bare head, and tie it about his neck like a necklace. After which it has been applied to a hen, and bit it, which has died in a few minutes : and to complete the experiment, the man has taken it by the neck, and beginning at the tail has eaten it as one would do a carrot or stock of celery, without any seeming repugnance." Brace's idea is that certain Arab tribes have the knowledge of some roots, the chewing of which, combined with a washing of the body with an infusion of the leaves in water, exempts them from the effects of the poison of these reptiles. But with regard to the Black people of Sennaar he suspects them to be naturally proof against the poi- son. His opinions on these points are unworthy serious consideration ; and we cannot help thinking with Cloquet, that he was credulous and imposed upon by the dexterity of jugglers. Those who have seen fire-eaters exhibit their tricks can easily imagine that a similar deception might be practised, substi- tuting a serpent for burning materials ; and as to the experiments, the substitution of a perfect for a fangless snake, and vice versS, by a dexterous hand, is about upon a par with the thimblerig game. Be- sides his details are anything but precise, nor do we wonder at it ; for when speaking about the poison glands he says, " I confess the danger attending the dissection of these parts made me so cautious that any observations I should make upon them would be the less to be depended upon." From this we may judge of his coolness when the living reptiles were creeping loose about him or writhing in the hands of jugglers. We now advance to a far more formidable group of serpents, the deadly Cobras, Najas or Naias, which nave been celebrated from the earliest times, and which are respectively distributed to Africa and India. In the genus Naja, or Naia, the head is covered on the top and sides with plates ; and the skin of the neck IS extremely dilatable, or capable of being expanded to such a degree as to form a thin hood, the scales during the expansion being thrown far apart, from the stretching of the skin. When irritated these snakes elevate the head and anterior portion of the body, expand their hood, hiss loudly, and with sparkling eyes advance resolutely towards their assailant ; in this attitude their appearance is very beautiful, and, were there no cause for alarm, might be contemplated with pleasure. An en- counter with an enraged naja is, indeed, no trifling ntfair, for though seldom more than five or six feet long, the reptile is bold and powerful, and springs on its foe with great velocity ; and, as its bite is mortal, its destruction the next moment cannot re- pair the mischief. In dealing with such creatures discretion is the better part of courage. Fig. 2286 represents the Head of Naja ; a, the side view ; h, as •een from above : Fig. 2287, view of the upper side of the Hood expaniled, with the head on the same line with the body : Fig. 2288, a view of the under side of the same : Fig. 2289, the Head seen from behind, when the anterior portion of the excited serpent is in an erect posture. In the naja tripudians the hood is impressed behind with a mark somewhat resembling the cen- tral portion of a pair of spectacles reversed : it usually consists of a double reversed horseshoe line of black or brown, with the two ends dilated so as to enclose an oval space, in the centre of which is a ring or spot of black.. 2290, 2291.— The Common I.sdian Naja {Naja tripudians). Cobra de Capello* of the Asiatic Portuguese ; Serpent i. lunettes of the French ; Spec- * TliU name is notr ginn indiflcRnUy lo all the hooded snake*. tacle Snake of the English ; Nag and Chinta Nagoo of the natives. This formidable snake attains to five, or even six feet in length ; Captain Percival, indeed, says that specimens occur in Ceylon as long as fifteen feet; but these specimens, we believe, will be found to belong to the genus Hainadryas. which we shall here- after notice, and of which the species, being hooded, go under the indiscriminate name of " Cobras :" tbey attain to very large dimensions, and are dread- fully venomous, and much feared. We have already spoken of the manner in which the naja expands its hood and advances to the com- bat ; and well, as Captain I'ercival says, is it that he gives the signal, as his motions afterwards are too rapid to be avoided ; and he adds, " I have more than once been an eye-witness to instances where the fatal bite of this snake was escaped merely by the object of his vengeance timely ob- serving his preparations. One remarkable quality of these dangerous serpents is their fondness for music ; even when newly caught they seem to listen with pleasure to the notes, and even to writhe them- selves into attitudes. The Indian jugglers improve greatly on this instinct, and after taming them by degrees, instruct them to keep time to their fla- geolet." The colour of these snakes is subject to some variation, and in Ceylon, according to Dr. Davy, those of a light colour are called high-caste snakes, those of a dark colour low-caste. " The natives," he says, " in general rather venerate this snake than dread it. They conceive that it belongs to another world,* and that when it appears in this it is merely as a visitor ; they imagine that it possesses great power, that it is somewhat akin to the gods, and greatly superior to man. In consequence they su- perstitiously refrain from killing it, and always avoid it, if possible. Even when they find one in their house, they will not kill it, but, putting it into a bag, throw it into water. They believe that this snake has a good and generous disposition, and that it will do no harm to man unless provoked." Dr. Davy gives a pleasing picture of the irritations and soothings with which the snake-charmers excite and allay the temper of this serpent, and records several instances of the operation of the poison. In one case a young cock was bitten in the thigh, and gradually sank, and perished in convulsions in about seventeen minutes. The firet symptoms consisted in the respiration becoming hurried and laborious, to which succeeded a comatose state ; the breathing then became scarcely perceptible, when four or five convulsive fits came on, each weaker than the other, the last proving fatal. A distinct species, found in Calcutta, Bombay, and Assam, and termed by Dr. Cantor the Masked Naja (Naja larvata), is described in the 'Zool. Pro- ceeds.' 1839, p. 32. It is of a brownish colour, with numerous faint transverse stripes; the hood is marked with a white ring, not unlike the form of a mask, behind which there are from three to five white rings ; the anterior part of the lower surface is marked with alternate white and bluish-black rings ; the posterior part is iridescent glaucous. A young specimen of this snake was living in 1829 in the Society's Gardens, Regent's Park. The artificial temperature, G2? Fahr., in which it was kept, appeared to agree with it very well. Dr. Cantor observes that, in one respect, it offered in its habits a striking difference from those of the najas generally in captivity, for, as he was informed by the keeper, it feeds occasionally upon living frogs and earth-worms, and that it drinks milk; while those in Dr. Russell's possession, and also in his own, in India, when deprived of liberty invariably refused to take any kind of food. This must be taken with some exceptions, for Col. Briggs states that those kept by the priests in the temples are pampered • Dr. Dftvy.in his chapter on the Cingalese System of the Universe, has tlie following pas-s.i^e : — 'Hie Na^jii bhawenc, that lies under Asoora bhawene, is also 10,000 leagues in circumference. It is a hollow sphere, witiiout mountnins or hills, lakes or rivers, ami en- tirely destitute of vegetation, with the exception of a single tree, called Parasattoo, that answers for all others, bearing not only an im- mense variety of flowers and fruit", but everything else tliat is desii> able. Tlie N'oga-bhawenc is the abode of a numerous race of snakes, similar in kind to the hooded snake, and of great size, beauty, and power, capable of passing from one part of the world to another, and shining like.gods ; so that, though they have no W^ht but tliat which emanates ftrom their own iKidies, tliey enjoy perpetual day infinitely brighter than ours. In their former lives on earth they were persons of remarkable purity and gooflness, almost deserving of liecoming gods ; but their high virtues were sullied by some vice, particularly that of malice, to which thev owe their present forms. Though snakes, they are Ithoodists, and are in possession of a relic and wor- sliip in temples. Tliey reside in well-furnished houses, and eat and dri:ik, and enjoy society. By merely wishing, they immediately have any article of food they want : and whatever it may be, it always appears in tire form of a frog. Tliey are under a re^ai government, and are ilistriliuteil into castes, like the Cingalese. Their king, Maliakilla naga-rajsya, is in every respect superior to the rest; it WRs with his assistance that the gods and Asooras churned the milky sea; he wound himself round a rock, and tliey, pulling at his two extremities, set tlie mass in motion and accomplished their work. Were those snakes dispise ai.d Snakes. 22W.-Naja H»je. Tonng. tt mm gBCgjjMHI HE gj^j HERalaii Jjj/PK-p^^^^^^j^^^^^^^ E^/nlHiVn H EaHK ^^mmB ^HK gsgW y|^M|^ eK^^g ^E£ §^^^M bP^^^^^^^MH^ ^ "^^"^ =£-_- ~^ -^ Wfi^^^rz — ""^^^^W^^B ^^^firiU =^- '^-" ^j yf^m^^ - ;/<'ltTK-^^BK- ^4bL^^HI =-^ J ^IEtiSj==== — ^^"t^bF ^^^ ^^^^S^^^V . ■"" j; .■ ■ '^^^ W^ ^ ''^^^^jVl w i^ '■^ '3 fe^^l^^J ■B ^, jrf'iK*'^ ■•s- — ^^^^ ' *' ^fll I^H 1 yr-^B^ **■-■ '>- ^E= ' '^^"".ifl^^B^^SE 1 I^^Br 30^"^'- '■''^'"?*'' ^.'■' SiJSuwwmfl^Hffi^r- ^"^^i^^lll^ -- -' -^ I^^^H^H I^HR Pfc;'' %'^^'*-'r -it^uBBSk^^B^c > . y - J^ i^^^^^^l i HI BHI ■ ^^9 Kvj^HBpKT ^Vrr^^Br'^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^B nui li^'.' ■ ■■ .'"v^ «y!^£^H^^^^^H|^H ^^^H ^1 is^"'^ ^^igi^mi^^^^^^^ ^^^1 1 HH ■ S293.— EgyplUn Cobi». 120 MM — Egyptian C«bn. 23C2.— Tail of Homed Acanihophis. 2304.— Kattlcsnake. 2305.— Tail of Kaltlesnako. 23i:g.— KattlcsDake and OiiOsHum 2300.— Qoad and Tail of Brawn't Acantbopbis. 2298.— Serpcnl-Channers. :.w!.,:i;,:,i!i,'.;(r.{i^.!fli|Pl So. 66. 2303. — Le>WD'(.Acanthof)y(. -Vol. II. 2301.— Horned Acanthophis 3399.— S«rpent-Channers. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 121 122 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [SXAKES. accidents were not uncommon, though perhaps not generally known. Serpents do not always "obey the voice of the chamier." Roberts mentions the instance of a man who came to a gentleman's house to exhibit tame snakes ; and, on being told that a cobra was in a cage in the house, was asked if he could charm it : on hU replying in the affirmative the serpent was released from the cage, and, no doubt, in a state of high irritation. The man becan his incantrftions and repeated his charms, but the snake darted at him, fastened upon his arm, and before night he was a corpse. Among the snakes to be dreaded for their bold- ness and venom, may be noticed the lance-headed vijjer, of the islands of Martinico, St. Lucia, and we believe also of the Brazilian continent. It is the Vipire fer-de-lance of the French (Trigonocephalus lanceolatus, Oppel.). This species attains to six, seven, and even, as it is said, eighi or nine feet in length ; and is remarkable for its activity. When about to make an attack, it throws itself into spiral coils, and then launches itself with the velocity of an arrow on its enemy. It greatly abounds in the sugar-cane plantations, and, as the negroes are much exposed to its bite, many perish from time to lime from the effects of its poison. It is not, however, confined to sugar- cane plantations; it haunts woods, marshes, the luxuriant borders of rivers, and occurs even on the sterile mountains. M. Moreau de Jonn^s and his com- panions, on their accent to the crater at the pinnacle of a mountain, more than five thousand feet high, which overhangs the town of St. Pierre, in Marti- nico, encountered one of these snakes at the sum- mit, from which, as they were completely exhausted by their exertions, they were in great danger. In- deed, it was only eight days previously to their ascent that a fisherman, while shooting his canoe over the volcanic pebbles of the shore at the l)ase of that very mountain, had been attacked by one of these snakes; it rushed at him from its conceal- ment among loose basaltic masses, and inflicted a wound which, notwithstanding all endeavours to save his life, proved fatal. In the woods these reptiles mount to the tops of the highest trees, in quest of birds and their young, and often lie coiled in the snug nests of the previous tenants, which latter they have devoured. They lurk also in the holes of trees, and under the de- composing masses of herbage in close thickets, or among the parasitic plants which soon overgrow the mouldering logs of timber in the forest. Should a ijerson incautiously approach the lair of one of these snakes, it will dart ibrth, and pursue the fugi- tive by a series of rapid leaps ; and even when in the trees, it has been known to spring at a passer- by. Tenements in the country, and the embowered cottages of the negroes, are often invaded by this pest, and poultry-yards and pigeon-houses are sub- ject to its visitations. It is not unfrequently brought into the towns among green fodder and vegetable productions, and numbers are constantly found to enter within the outworks of Fort Bourbon in Mar- tinico, and Fort Luzerne in St. Lucia, during their nightly excursions, where they are despatched as quickly as possible. Lizards, birds, and rats, but especially the latter, constitute the food of this ser- pent ; after swallowing its prey, it is said to exhale a disgusting odour, yet the negroes, who are not very fastidious, eat its flesh, which is not un- pleasant. Nearly related to this snake is the formidable Bushmaster (Lachesis rhombeata) of Guiana, Bra- zil, &c. It is exceedingly venomous, and attains to the length of eight or nine feet. There are double scuta beneath the tail, which terminates in a short horny point ; when surprised or irritated this reptile vibrates its tail, and produces a rustling noise by striking it against the dry grass or the brushwood; but not, as in the rattlesnake, by means of a special piece of oscillating mechanism. From this habit, however, Linnaeus associated it with the rattlesnakes, under the name of Crotalus mutus. It is an intermediate form between those snakes and the viperine family. We may now proceed to a genus, in which, mostly at least, the tail is terminated by a spiniform scale, but the plates beneath the tail, excepting a few of the last, are single. We allude to the geiius Acanthophis, which appears to be restricted to Australia. The following extracts from Mr. G. Bennett's interesting work, entitled ' Wanderings in New South Wales,' may not be unacceptable. •' Snakes," he says, " are numerous in various parts of the co- lony. Those known among the colonists as the Black and Brown Snakes are Ibund about the banks of rivers or in swampy situations The natives, who, however, are not the best authorities (we query this), say that the bite is not deadly, but causes the person bitten to feel .sick and sleepy for a short time, which passes off without being followed by any ill effects, even if no remedy be applied." These snakes measure about four feet in length, and readily take to the water. They feed upon frogs, lizards, &c. "There is,"' he continues, "an- other dangerous snake called Yellow Snake by the colonists, and .Taruk by the Yas natives. It attains to a very large size, and has the reputation of being very venomous ; the bite (unless the piece be im- mediately cut out) producing almost immediate death. " The most deadly snake in appearance, and I believe also in effect, is one of hideous aspect, called by the colonists Death Adder, and by the Yas na- tives Tammen, from havmg a small curved process at the end of the tail, bearing some resemblance to a sting : and the reptile is considered by popular rumour (but erroneously) to inflict a deadly sting , with it. I '■ This hideous reptile (evidently an acanthophis) I is thick in proportion to its length. The eye is ' vivid yellow with a black longitudinal pupil ; the ! colourof the body is difficult to be described ; being a complication of dull tints, with narrow blackish bands, shaded off into the hues which prevail upon the back ; the under parts are slightly tinged with red. The head is broad, thick, and flattened. The specimen I examined measured two feet two inches in length, and iive inches in circumference. A dog that was bitten by one died in less than an hour." The snakes of this genus Acanthophis are dull and inanimated ; they feed upon insects, lizards, and I small mammalia. 2300. — Brow.n's Acanthophis (Acanthophis Brownii). Our pictorial specimens of the Head and Tail of this hideous reptile suffice to convey a clear idea of the generic characters. According to Mr. P. Cunningham, this is the most venomous snake of New South Wales, and is, we suspect, identical with the Death Adder, described by Mr. G. Bennett. Mr. Cunningham relates a remarkable fact, proving both the tenacity of life which these snakes possess, and the virulence of the poison. Two in- dividuals, a male and female, were discovered by the dogs of a sportsman ; the male was killed, but the female escaped into the hole ; upwards of ten minutes afterwards, one of the dogs, in lumting about where the snake had been killed, was bitten in the foot by the head which had been cut otf, and shortly after died in the most dreadful convulsions. The male is dark brown, the female of a light orange colour. 2301. — The Horned Acanthophis {Acanthophis ceroitimis). This species, which was first described by Menem, is named Cerastinus from the similarity which, at first sight, it bears to the Cerastes, in its short thick body, large flat head, and eyes surrounded by prominent scales. The pointed spur with which the tail terminates is sharp, compressed, and slightly bent upwards. (Fig. 2302.) 2303. — Lesson's Acanthophis (Acanthophis Tortor). This species is described by Lesson in the ' Zoologie de la Coquille,' and is considered by him as identical with the A. Brownii of Dr. Leach. This, however, is evidently not the case, for in the first place the tail of Lesson's species is not tipped with a spine, and in the second place its colouring is perfectly different. It is elegantly tinted ; a black velvety blue is spread over the upper part of the body ; rose-colour deepened to red runs along each side from the jaws to the base of the tail. Pale yellow tinges the un- der surface of the body, but a brown circle occupies the centre of each abdominal plate ; the head and tail are uniformly blue-black. Length about three feet. Lesson describes two poison fangs on each side as small and sharp. Letter a represents the Head, which, it will be perceived, is very different from that of A. Brownii. 2304. — ^The Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus). Crotalus horridus, Cuv. Several species of Rattlesnake are known to naturalists, as the Boiquira or Diamond Rattle- snake of Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil (Crotalus horridus) ; the Common or Banded Rattlesnake of the United States (Crotalus durissus) ; and : the Small Rattlesnake (Caudisona miliaris, Fitzin.). ' We may here observe that the terms horridus and durissus have been very loosely applied to the two former species by naturalists. Cuvier assigns the ! term horridus to the species found in the United Slates, and durissus to that of Guiana. In his ' North American Reptiles,' Dr. Harlan reverses the i titles, and we adopt his application of them. 1 The rattlesnakes are all natives of America; the head is covered with scales, similar to those of the : upper surface, excepting in the genus Caudisona, where it is protected by plates; there is a small de pression behind each nostril ; the tail is furnished with an appendage commonly termed its rattle ; it consists of a number of thin horny cells, of a pyra- midal figure, with a protuberant marginal ring; they are fitted into one another as far as this ring; that is, the pyramidal portion of one is received into the hollow of that succeeding, its apex reach- ing as far as the ring of the third, and so on, — hence, when all together, only the protuberant margin of each is seen. The articulation of these distinct portions being very loose, they rustle against each other when smartly vibrated, and produce a distinct whirring noise that may be heard at some distance. The structure of the rattle is well expressed at Fig. 230D ; a shows a rattle of twenty-four joints ; i, the section of a rattle, showing the form of the distinct portions, and the mode in which they are fitted into each other. The number of the joints composing the rattle increases, to a certain period at least, with each moult of slough, and the basal bell is the last formed. When irritated or alarmed, the rattlesnake vibrates this appendage, and gives timely warning, for it is slow to strike, and never voluntarily attacks man. unless trodden upon or molested. It is, in- deed, mostly glad to escape, retiring with tail erect and rapidly vibrating. These reptiles, when irri- tated, exhale a disgusting odour ; it is said, however, that the peccary will destroy and devour them; though not, as we should suppose, without often experiencing the effects of their venomous fangs. Horses and dogs, however, avoid them. " I have often," says M. Bosc, " amused myself by trying to force my horse and dog to approach one of these animals, but they would sooner have allowed themselves to be knocked down on the spot than come near them." It would seem from Kalm that horses and oxen perish from the bite of a rattlesnake sooner than dogs or men, yet dogs seldom survive. Captain Hall exposed some of these animals to the bite of a rattlesnake measuring four feet in length ; the first struck with its deadly fangs expired in fifteen minutes, the second lingered in great agony for two hours before death ended its sufferings, and the third only began to feel the effects of the poison after an interval of three houi-s : four days afterwards the same snake bit a dog which died in thirty seconds, and another dog which died in four minutes. Well is it then that such terrible reptiles are slow in their movements, indolent in their habits, and ready to give warning by their rattle of their pre- sence ! They are fond of lying coiled up in sunny spots, with the rattle elevated in the centre, and ready to be vibrated, when the animal sees an in- truder, without moving any other part of the body. When exasperated, the rattlesnake continuously vibrates the tail ; the head is flattened, the throat and cheeks are distended, the jaws open, the venom- fangs are displayed, the tongue quivers, and the boily alternately swells and sinks with rage, like a pair of bellows ; should its enemy now approach, the blow will be instantaneously struck : if, how- ever, he retire, the reptile will unfold its coils, and creep away into the brushwood, as if unwilling to continue the strife. Occasionally these snakes attain to very great dimensions. Catesby says, "The largest I ever saw was one about eight feet in length, weighing be- tween eight and nine pounds. This monster was gliding into the house of Colonel Blake of Carolina, and had certainly taken his abode there undisco- vered, had not the domestic animals alarmed the family with their repeated outcries; the hogs, dogs, and poultry united in their hatred to him, showing the greatest consternation, by erecting their bristles and feathers; and, expressing their wrath and indig- nation, surrounded him, but carefully kept their distance, while he, regardless of their threats, glided slowly along." The same writer, speaking of the herbs used as antidotes to the bite, by the Indians, adds, " Having, by travelling much with Indians, had frequent opportunities of seeing the direful effects of the bite of those snakes, it always seemed and was apparent to me that the good effects usually attributed to these their remedies are owing more to the force of nature or the bite of a small snake in a muscular part. The person thus bit I have known to survive for many hours without any as- sistance, but where a rattlesnake with full force penetrates with his deadly fangs, and pricks a vein or artery, inevitable death ensues, and that, as I have often seen, in less than two minutes. The Indians know their destiny the minute they are bit, and when they perceive it mortal apply no remedy, con- cluding all efforts are vain ; but if the bite happen in a fleshy part, they immediately cut it out to stop the current of the poison. I could heartily wisn that oil of olives applied to the wound might have as good success against the venom of these snakes as it hath been found in England to have had against the poison of the adder." It is in the hottest part of the year only, accord- SSA-SXAKES.J MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 123 mg to Mr. Pence of Philadelphia, that the poison of this reptile is the most dangerous. " Its bite," he savs. " from the moment it emerges from its retreat till August, does not necessarily produce fatal effects. It has been remarked, and the observation has not escaped the Indians, that from the month of August to the time when about to retire to its winter quarters, the period in which it takes the most food, it becomes terrible, and its bite is mortal." " We know that serpents in general retire on the approach of winter, according to the nature of the ground, and the temperature of the places they tenant, either under large stones, or info holes which other animals have burrowed. The Boigeura gives preference to places in the vicinity of water. We have dug up many of their holes on the borders of the river Maurice. They were all tortuous, and led to a sort of chamber distant from the entrance six or cisrht feet, and there we have found them in balls, and twined together. Our guide led us, on one oc- casion, into a marshy place, covered with a prodigious quantity of the sphagnum pahbtre, a kind of moss, of which the stems are from six to twelve inches high. Having removed some of this moss, of which the top was frozen (the frost being so severe that it penetrated the naked ground to the depth of twelve or fourteen inches), we perceived many rattlesnakes slowly creeping among the roots of the trees, im- mediately beneath the moss, and on an oozy ground over which flowed running water not affected by the frost. Here I would make a passing remaik, that this fact may be turned to account by persons em- ployed in agriculture or gardening : this moss might he employed for the preservation of delicate plants liable to be killed by the severity of winter." Numerous experiments prove that the rattle- snake eats indifferently all kinds of dead birds he meets with, and that he employs no supernatural means to seize his victims. He does not, however, eat frogs, to which the black snake (Coluber Con- strictor) is so partial We may add that the rattlesnake never climbs trees, but waits on the ground for its prey, on which It darts when within the proper distance. Mr. Pence says that the rattlesnake employs no supernatural means to seize his victims — and he speaks sensibly. Who, however, lias not heard of the fascinating powers of this snake ? The process is thus detailed by Catesby : — " The charming, as it is commonly called, or attractive power which this snake is said to have of drawing to it animals, and devouring them, is generally believed in America: as for my own part, I never saw the action, but a great many from whom I have had it related all agree in the manner of the process ; which is, that the animals, particularly birds and squirrels (which principally are their prey), no sooner spy the snake tlian they skip from spray to spray, hovering and approaching gradually nearer their enemy, re- gardless of any other danger, but with distracted ges- tures and outcriesdescend from the top of the lolliest trees to the mouth ofthe snake, who openeth his jaws, takes them in, and in an instant swallows them." In all this there is nothing beyond what arises from the desire of the animals to drive awajr a savage foe, against which they have an instinctive hatred, from the precincts of their nests, and in their eagerness and anxiety often advance so close as to bring themselves within the reptile's power. In other instances they are startled by the dreaded snake's sudden appearance, and become bewildered or paralyzed with terror. Fig. 2306 shows a small species of Opossum suddenly surprised by the unex- pected appearance of a Rattlesnake. After all it is very doubtful whether living birds are the common prey of the rattlesnake. Some experiments by Mr. Pence on a rattlesnake, anJ!tclC j[ 3323.— Common Toad. ' 2324.— I'ainled Frugs. 2326.— Green Tree-Frogs. 128 233:;.— Gessner'» Fossil Toad. April 23. April 26. April 28. April 30. 2.i24.— Stirlncm Toad. 2.(^ M»y3.Q May 4.^ Ma, 5.(5) 2343.— Tadpole at 22 and 37 dnyi, No. QJ. Vol. II. 2338 — Common Water Newt. Female. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.! :i337.— Common Water Newt. Male. lOft 130 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Tritoks. a sliort distance. Its general colour vRrics, bein)? prev, brown, yellow, or olive, with markinits of a. darker lint, mostly with a yellowish line down the middle ol' the back. 2330.— Thb Mitrkd Toad (Birfo margnritlfer, Dand ). Olilophis margariti- I'era, Cuv. ; Raiia marj^ritilera, Grael. Till* upeties, wliiuh i* a nalive of Braiil and Gui- ana, is (listinjriiished by a crest on each side of the head, extending from the anterior pari of the orbit to the parotid plaml, whence a foid of skin runs alonir each side of the body and down to the knee. The skin of the hinder quarters of the hotly and limlwis so loose and so little adherent to the muscles, that the thighs and adjacent parts appear as if en- shrouded in a sac. The general colour is olive, yel- low, or brown; often nrilh raarblings of a deeper lint. Under parts whitish, marbled with grey and brown. The muzzle is pointed, the head trian- gular. 2331.— Thk Bi-coloured Toad (Enrn/stoma ovale, Fitzin.). Uana ovalis, Shaw; Oxyrliynchus bicolor, Valenc, Guuriii, and Cuvier; Stenocej>lia!us microps, Tschudi. This liltle reptile, remarkable for its small sharp- pointed head, is a^iative of South America. Jn general the upjier parts are chestnut, the under "parts white : sometimes the upper parts are brown with a wash of slate l)lue ; the under parts marbled or spotted with yellow and brownish red. Some have the throat black, and in all there is a whitish stripe along the back of the thighs. 2332.— The Marbleb Toad (Upertklon nuirmoralum, Bibr.). Engystoma mar- moratum, Cuvier. or this species little is known ; it was discovered by Leschenault in the interior of India. ' Its general colour is olive (green perhaps when alive) marbled with large markings of brown. Under parts white, excepting in the males, which have the throat black. In this species there .iii.' (as an ex- ception to the rule) a few small teeth in the palate. The vocal sac of the male is capable of great ex- tension. 23.33. — Gessner's Palj»phrynos {Palaoplirynos Gessneri, Ttchudi). A fossil spe- cies of toad, the relics of which, with those of another species, I'elophilus Agassizii, are obtained from the (Eningen beds. Fossil frogs have been found in the coal formation of the Rhine, together with the remains of certain fishes of the genus Leu- ciscus, viz. L. macnirus and L. papyraceus. We pass from the toads to the pipas, or Pliiyna- glosses pipajformes of Dumeril and Bibron, so called from the total absence of the tongue ; in addition to this, the internal auditory cavities communicate with the mouth only by means of a single minute opening in the middle of the posterior part of the palate. Two genera are known, each containing only one species, viz. Dactylethra and Pipa. 2334.— The Surinam Toad {Pipa Americann, Laur.). Bufo dorsiger, Latr. In this strange reptile, the head is large, flattened, and triangular, with the nostrils prolonged in the form of a little cutaneous tube ; the eyes are very minute and vertical, the eyelids reduced to a simple rudiment incapable of closing over the eyes. There are no teeth, either on the jaws or palate, nor are parotid glands apparent. The anterior paws have each four fingers, terminating in four star-like points ; the hind limbs are short and thick, the feet large, and the toes, five in number, completely webbed. The body is broad and flat ; a little barbule (barbillon) hangs on each side of the upper jaw, and an ear-like appendage on each angle of the mouth. The skin differs from that of all other Batracians, being covered with minute hard granules ; amongst which are scattered small conical tubercles of a horny consistence. The male is distinguished by an enor- mous larynx formed like a triangular box of bone, within which are two movable pieces, the action of which influences the intonation of the voice. The mode in which the eggs of this reptile are hatched, and the circumstances connected with the development of the young, are most extraordinary. It would appear that as fast as the female deposits her eggs, the male who attends her arranges them on her broad back, to the number of fifty or upwards. The contact of the skin with these egirs appears to produce a sort of inflammation ; the skin of the back swells, and becomes covered with pits or cells, which enclose each a single egg, the surface of the back resembling the closed cells of a honeycomb. The female now betakes herself to the water, and in these cells the eggs are not only hatched, but the tadpoles undergo their metamorphosis, emerging in a perfect condition, though very small, alter a 'apse of eighty-two days from the time in which the eggs were placed in their respective pits. M. Bi- bron says, that the cells occupying the middle portion of the back are, according to his own obser- vations, those which are the flrst cleared of the young, "bei-ause doubtless they are the first which are formed, or the first occupied."* These pits are only in the skin, and do not penetrate into the mus- cular tissue beneath, nor communicate with the interior of the body. Fig. 23:1:') shows the dispo- sition of these cells and their situation on the skin, which is thrown back so as to expose the muscles below. The small separate figures are tadpoles in different stages of development. The pipa, or Surinam toad, is of large size, of a brown or olive colour above, whitish below ; it in- htbits the marshes and swamps in the forests of Guiana, Brazil, and other parts of South America. According to Sebaund iMadame Merian, the negroes eat its flesh. Before quitting the Banidaeor anurous Batracians, we mnv allmle to a belief of ancient date which yet prevaiTs, that young frogs and toads are occasionally showered down with heavy rains, and that in great abundance, so as to cover considerable spaces of ground, where none had been previously observed ; some have called in the aid of waterspouts, whirl- winds, and similar causes, to account for their elevation into the regions of air; and some have even thought they were formed in the clouds, whence they were precipitated. It has been generally in August, and often alter a season of drought, that these hordes of frogs have made their appearance. Redi's explanation is doubtless the correct one : these loads and frogs, he says, " do not appear until it has rained for some time ; but these animals had been hatched many days previously, or rather, had quitted the water in which they were developed as tadpoles, having undergone their complete trans- formation. These little frogs then lay concealed in the chinks of the earth, under stones and clods, where in consequence of their lying ipotionless, and often also on account of their dusky colour, they escaped the eye." With this account M. Dumeril agrees, observing that "the precise peiiod of the year, the circumstance of rain always preceding the appearance of these young frogs and toads, which bear the signs of their recent transformation, and generally the total absence of any violent commotion of the wind, leave us in no doubt as to their origin. We have ourselves observed the phenomenon in question, once in I'icardy, near Amiens, and once in the marshy meadows near Marbella in Spain : in the latter instance, it was a host of little frogs that made their appearance and covered our clothes, as M. Desgennettes, now present at the Scientific Meeting, may recollect." For further details we refer to the 'Erpetologie Goncrale,' vol. viii. p. 223. We now pass to the Caudate Amphibia, les Uro- dcles of MM. Dumeril and Bibron. Family SALAMANDRID7I': (TRITONS AND NEWTS). 233G. — A Group of British Water-Newts : a, the Common Water-Newt (Triton cristatus) ; b. the Common Smooth Newt (Lissotriton punctatus) ; c, the Straight-lipped Water-Newt (iViton Bibronii) ; d, the Palmated Water-Newt (Lissotriton palmipes). 2337. — The Common Water-Newt (^Diion cristatus), male. 2338. — The Common Water-Newt (_Triton cristatus), female. 2339.- The Common Smooth Newt (^Lissotriton punctattts). n, Male, 6, Female. Of the Water-Newts, four species inhabit the ponds, ditches, and clear sluggish or standing waters of our island. Lizard-like as these reptiles are in appearance, they must not be confounded with the lacertine group, with which LinnsBus, overlooking their true characteristics, associated them under the common term of Litcerta. Like the frog, the newts begin their existence in a tadpole state, furnished wijh tufted gills or branchifefor aquatic respiration, which become ultimately lost, and are replaced by true lungs adapted for a different medium. The process of this structural change, which is essentially the same as in the frog, we shall sketch as briefly as possible consistent with clearness. On its first exclusion from the egg, the tadpole of the water-newt exhibits on the sides of the neck the lobes of the branchiae in a simple state, anterior to which are a pair of holdere, by which the animal attaches itself to objects in the water. Jn about three weeks on the average, the anterior limbs have become developed, with terminal feet, fourtoed and distinct, the holders have disappeared, the branchial • It woiiltl seem that in females which have not as yet laid p^jl's, these pit* are not to Ijc seen ; tliey begin to l)e developed when the eg;(i are first arran)re0.— Fore hand of Sleboldtia. : 3i:. — Si otrel Saiamandcr. SS47.— Skull of Menopome. 2349.— Vertebra of Sleboldtii. 2J4S.— Skull ofSiebo'dtia. iUS.— Menopoaie. 132 2354.— Head of Menopome. 23 i8.— Three-toed Amphiuma. 2355.— Tooth of LabvTini hcdon 2356.— Fossil Relics of Labyrinthodon. \ ^• ^^^>^^^ a357.— Footprints of Labyrinthodon. 236!.— Skulls and Vertebra of Proteus. 2351.— Great Fossil Salamander. Sib'Jt — Pioteus. 23'8. --Gre.it Fossil Sjlamander. 133 134 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Newts. of dislike and apprehension. Much in its history vet remains to be cleared up ; we know nothing of Its tadpole state or of its transfoimations. Its general colour is slaty, with dark spots, and a dark j line through the eyei>. < With respect to the Sieboldtia maxima of the i Prince of Canino(.Me)ralol)atrachus,T8chudi; Crvp- i tobranchus, Van der Hoevea;, it may be described | as a gigantic salamander, three feet in length, inha- i biting a lake on a ba^ltic mountain in Japan, where ' the species was discovered by Dr. Von Sieboldt, who : bioauht away two individuals, a male and female, i but the former devoured the latter during the passage | homewards ; the survivor arrived in Leyden, where : it was lately living, and perhaps is so still. It feeds , on fishes. In this reptile, as in the true newts, the | slils of the branchial apertures are closed, and not | open at in Menopoma. In the Zool. Proceeds, for I March 13, 1S38, will be found the notice of a letter | from .M. Van der Iloeven respecting it, with some i observations by Professor Owen. 23r)l, 2352. — The Gigantic Fossil Saxauaxdkk ! {AtidrUif Scheiiclueri. Tschudi). From the Sieboldlia we turn to the fossil relics of | n closely allied species, which has been extinct for I ages. 1 11 was in the Philosophical Transactions for 172C, ] that Dr. Scneuchzer published a short account of a | li.is.sil received by him from the (Eningen beds (the I iiiiocene period of Lyell). which he firmly believed I to be that of a human being, and na such was it { received by the naturalists of his day. It was the \ " homo dil'uvii testis," a rare relic of one of that ac- \ cursed people buried by the flood, or, to use the i words of Sc-heuclizer in his ' Physica Sacra,' " \fl- \ ^arar malcdiotie illius et aquis sepultsc gentis." The ruling passion of this physician was to collect ' fossils which might be considered as evidences of the deluge ; hence, carried away by his favourite theory, when he looked at the fossil in question, he forgot the osteology of the human body, or viewed tfie bones imbedded in the stone through the distorted optics of an excited imagination. In 1755, another spe- cimen came into the possession of Gesner, and though he rejiudiated the idea of the relics beins; those of man, yet he fell into an error in attributing them to a species of fish (Silurus Glanis, Linn.). A third and more complete specimen, now in the British Museum, came into the hands of Dr. Ammann of Zurich, a fisruie of which was published by Karg in the ' Memoirs of the Society of Naturalists of Suabia,' and still under the idea of its being a fossil silurus. That this opinion was erroneous, .Jiiger demonstrated by placintr a figure of the Silurus Glanis by the side of Karg's figure of the fossil, and at once dispelled the illusion. On looking at Karg's figure, Cuvier at once perceived that the characters were those of the Salamandridae, an opinion which had been entertained by M. Kiel- meyer and by Camper, who, as .liiger says, observed in a letter to Burton, that a petrified lizard has been able to pass for an anthropolite (fossil man). In 1811, Cuvier visited Haarlem, and obtained permission to work upnn the stone which contained Scheuchzer's " homo diluvii testis." He placed the skeleton of a salamander before the operatore, who, as the chisel chipped away the stone, exposing the bones to view, beheld with delight the predictions of Cuvier veri- fied. The remains were indeed those of a gigantic salamander, to which the Sieboldtia bears the nearest affinity. From this fossil form among the Salamandridae, we must now turn to another, namely, the Labyrin- thodon of Professor Owen (Salamandroides, Jiiger ; Mastodonsaurus, Phytosaurus, Chirotherium) ; and to render the subject clear, we shall first advert to Fiir. 23.55, a transverse section of the tooth of Laby- rinthodon, with a portion of the same magnified. Premising that the reptilian remains in question occur in the Warwick sandstone, and in the Keuper of Germany, we shall take an extract from the ' Pro- ceeds. Geol. Society of I>ond.' for 1841. "Before he proceeded to describe the fossils forming the immediateobject of his paper, Mr. Owen showed that the genus Phytosaurus was established on the casts of the sockets of the teeth of Mastodon- saurus, and that the latter generic appellation ought not to be retained, because it recalls unavoidably the idea of the mammalian genus Mastodon, or else a mammilloid form of the tooth, whereas all the teeth of the genus so designated are originally, and for the greater number, permanently of a cuspidate and not of a mammilloid form ; and because the second element of the word, saurus, indicates a false affinity, the remains beloni;ing not to the Saurian, but to the Batrachian onler of reptiles. For these reasons, and believing that he had discovered the true and pecu- liarly distinctive denial characters of the fossil, he proposed to designate the genus by the term Laby- linthodon. " The only portions of the Batrachian found in the Keuper of Germany which have hitherto been de- scribed, consist of teeth, a fragment of the skull, and a few broken vertebrs : and in the Warwick sand- stone, of teeth only. In this memoir, therelore, Mr. Owen confined his attention to a comparison of the dental structure of the Continental and English remains." Professor Owen then enters into the minutie of structural details, and concludes by observing that " if on the one hand geology has in this instance really derived any aid from minute anatomy, on the other hand in no instance has the comparative ana- tomist been more indebted to geology, than for the fossils which have revealed the most singular and complicated modification of dental structure hitherto known, and of which not the slightest conception could have been gained from an investigation, how- ever close and extensive, of the teeth of existing animals." Referring to the Fig. 2355, we may observe that the small circle shows a section of the tooth of Laby- rinthodon Jaegeri, Owen, of the natural size; the other is a quarter of the same circle magnified; a, is the pulp-cavity from which the processes of pulp and dentine radiate ; b l>, the cement. From the tooth of Labyrinthodon, we may now pass to Figs. 2.35G and 21)57, the relics and foot-jirints of a species termed Labyrinthodon I'achysrnathus. Impressions made by the footsteps of animals, ripple-marks, and little pits formed by the drops of a heavy shower, have been found at different times on the surface of various strata of sandstone, both in this and other countries, as well as in beds of comparatively recent formation in various parts of the kingdom ; for ex- ample, in Pembrokeshire, on making excavations for a dock at Penibray, the tracks of deer and large oxen were discovered on a layer of clay underlying a bed of peat, and also on the surface of the peat itself below a bed of silt, bones of the animals themselves occurring in the peat. We learn also Irom Dr. Buckland, that in excavations made for a harbour near Margam Burrows, on the east of Neath, foot- marks of deer have been observed. With respect to ancient strata, tracks of tortoises have been found impressed on the sandstone in the quarry of Corn- Cockle Muir, Dumfriesshire, as described in Trans. Royal Soc. Edin., 1828: and in 1831, Mr. G. P. Scrope found numerous foot-prints of small animals, probably Crustacea, and ripple-marks in the beds of forest marble near Bath. The impressions of birds' feet have been discovered on the surface of sandstone in the valley of the Connecticut, and fossil bones of birds have occurred in the strata of Tilgate forest, antecedent to the chalk formation. To come, how- ever, to the foot-prints of the Labyrinthodon, or as it was provisionally termed by Kaup, the Chiro- therium, from the supposed resemblance in the marks both of the fore and hind feet to those of a human hand, and which he thought might have been derived from some quadruped allied to the Marsu- pialia. It was in Saxony at the village of Hesseburg near Hildburghausen, that these fossil footsteps were first discovered in several quarries of grey quartzose sandstone alternating with beds of red sandstone, nearly of the use of the red sandstone of Corn-Cockle Muir. Dr. Hohnbaum and Professor Kaup state that those impressions of feet are partly concave and partly in relief; the depressions are described as being upon the upper surfaces of the sandstone slabs, but the footmarks in relief are only upon the lower surfaces, and cover the depressions. In short, the footmarks in relief are natural casts formed in the subjacent (ootsteps as in moulds. On one slab, six feet long by five feet wide, many footsteps of more than one animal and of various sizes occur. The larger impressions, which seem to be those of the hind foot, are generally eight inches in length and five in width, and one was twelve inches long. Near each large footstep, and at a regular distance (about an inch and a half) belbre it, a smaller print of a fore foot, four inches long and three feet wide, occurs. The footsteps follow each other in pail's, each pair in the same line, at intervals of fourteen inches from pair to pair. The large as well as the small steps show the great toes alternately on the ris;ht and left side ; each step makes the print of five toes, the first or great toe being bent inward like a thumb. Thougii the fore and hind foot differ so much in size, they are nearly similar in form. But these footsteps are not confined to foreign lands, and within the last few years able observers have contributed largely to this interesting subject. Dr. Buckland thus sums up the evidence oblained in this country : — Near Liverpool Mr. Cunningham has successfully continued his researches begun in 18;J8, respecting the foot.steps of Chirotherium and other animals in the new red sandstone at Storeton Hill, on the west .side of the Mersey. These foot- steps occur on five consecutive beds of clay in the same quarry ; the clay-beds are very thin : and having received the iniiiressious of the feet, afforded a series of moulds in which casts were taken by the succeeding deposits of sand, now converted into sandstone. The casts of the feet are salient in high relief on the lower surlaces of the t)eds of sand- stone, giving exact models of the feet and toes and claws of these mysterious animals, of which scarcely a single bone or tooth has yet been found, although we are assured by the evidence before us of tlie certainty of their existence at the time when the new red sandstone was in process of deposition. Further discoveries of the footsteps of Chirotherium and five or six smaller leptiles in the new led sandstone of Cheshire, Warwickshire, and Salop, have been brought before us by Sir P. Egeiton, Mr. J. Taylor, jun., Mr. Strickland, and Dr. Ward. Mr. Cunningham, in a sequel to his paper on the footmarks at Storeton, has described impres:-marks on the sand, now con- verted to sandstone, show the depth and direction of the current; the oblique impressions of the rain- drops register the point from which the wind was blowing at or about the time when the animals were passing." The Address from which the above passage is taken was delivered at the anniversary of ilie Geo- logical Society of London on the 21sl February, 1840 ; and at that time all was conjecture as to the nature of the animal called Chirotherium. Pro- fessor Owen'spaper, read on the 20ih January, 1841, proved the existence of a gigantic Batrachian at the period when the new red sandstone was formed. Scarcely was that memoir communicated, when additional materials of the highest impoitance were brought forward by the liberal possessors of them, and the result was a second paper, read belbre the Geological Society of London on the 24th of February, in which three species of Labyrintiiodon were defined, and evidence relating to the ichnology* of ] those extinct I5atrachians was adduced, which may be briefly stated as Ibllows : — 1st. Proof from the skeleton that Labyrinthodon had hind extremities much larger than the anterior extremities. 2nd. That the foot-prints of Chirotherium are at least as much like those of certain toads as those of any other animals. 3:d. That the size of the known species of Laby- rinthodon corresponds with the size of the foot- £ tints of the different species of Clurollierium : e. ff. abyriuthodon Jaegeri, with the Ibot-pnnt of Cliiro- theruim Hercules (Egeiton) ; Labuinlhodon pa- chygnathus, with tiie foot-marks of the common Chirotherium; and Labyrinthodon leplognathus, with the impressions of the smaller batrachian figured in the memoir by Mr. Murchison and Mr. Strickland. 4th. Labyrinthodon occurs in the new red sand- stone strata, to which Chirotherian impressions are peculiar. And Lastly, no remains of animals that could have lell such imijipssions as those of the Chirotherium have been found in these strata, except the remains of the Labyrinlhodons. ♦ 'Ixfos, a footstep ; \iyos, a discourse. Proteus, Sec] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 135 The reading: of Professor Owen's last memoir was Rccompanied by the exhibition of a diagram repre- sentinsr ajestorationoftwo species of Labyrinthodon, one of which, L. Pachysrnatluis, is copied on a greatly reduced scale ; Fisrs. iSSG and 2357. The bones which appear within the outline ars those which were known when the paper was read. The animal is represented as impressing its footsteps on a shore of sand, now new red sandstone. There is reason for believing: that this formidable batrachian was not smooth externally, but that it was protected on certain parts at least by bony plates. Specimens of the footprints may be seen both in the British ?.Iusenm and in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Family AMPHIUMID.'E (AMPHIUMA). 2358. — The Three-toed AmphUjMa {Amphivmn trirncti/him). Two species of Am- phiuma onlv are Unown : they inhal)it the sfairnant pools and ditches of Louisiana, Georgia. Florida, and South Carolina, and great numbers are often found in clearing out ponds, buried deep in the mud at the bottom. In these Amphibia, as in Menopoma, no bran- chioj have been found, but an orifice exists in each side of the neck, demonstrating their existence at some previous period. The body is extremely long, and covered with a smooth skin, which, together with their general form, gives them an eel-like appearance ; the limbs are four in number, but extremely minute; in one species the toes on each Jimb are three in number, in the other only two; they are little jointless divisions. There are no ribs, and the vertebrae resemble in their structure those of fishes ; the eyes are very small ; there are two longitudinal ranges of palatal teeth. These animals are essentially formed for the water, where they obtain their prey; on the approach of winter they bury themselves in the mud and there hybernate, occasionally however they creep on land, and burrow in spongy places, or under decaying logs, or fallen trunks of trees in swamps and marshes. Dr. Harlan, speaking of the small two-toed species, says, '■ I am informed by Major Wace, that they are some- times discovered two or three feet under mud of the consistence of mortar, in which they burrow like worms, as was instanced in digging near a street in Pensacola, where great numbers were thrown up during the winter season. It is called in Florida the Congo snake by the negroes, who believe it to be poiscmous, but without foundation. The three-toed ampbiuma attains the length of three feet ; the two-toed is only about eighteen inches long. We may now pass to the Perennibranchiate Amphibia, in which while the lungs are developed the branchiae remain, whence the animals are ca- pable of respiring both air and water. Family PROTEID^ (PROTEUS, AXOLOTL, &c.). 2353, 2360.— The Proteus (Profeits anguinus, Lawr.). Hypochton anguinus, jVIerrem. This curious animal, interesting alike from its structure and extraordinary abode, has greatlv ex- cited the attention of scientific men, who have diligently investigated its structure. We may de- scribe it as a slender, elongated reptile, with a smooth and delicate skin, with a compressed tail, with a de- pressed head, and with four short feeble and almost useless limbs. The mouth is wide, and the jaws are armed with teeth ; the eyes are mere rudimentary points covered by the skin ; the fore-limbs are fur- nished with three toes, the hind-limbs with two. The branchiae or gills are exposed, and form two pink tufis, one on each side of the occiput. The move- ments of the animal are eel-like. Deep under ground, in subterranean waters, where no ray of light ever penetrates, does the Proteus dwell ; light, indeed, is toogreat a stimulus for the creature to bear: we have hail opportunities of observing these singular ani- mals in confinement, and always noticed, tliat they shrouded themselves in the darkest part of the vessel in which they were placed, when the covering ■ was taken off in order to inspect them: and that they tietrayed a sense of unea.siness l)y their actions, when exposed to the light of open day, creeping round the sides of tlie vessel, or under the shelter of any substance which threw a partial shadow on the water. Their colour was that of pale flesh ; but alter a short exposure to light, the skin assumed a darker tint, and the branchial lulls became of a deeper red. Though these animals lived many months, and were healthy and vigorous, they were not supplied with any food, nor know we on what they subsist, though we have every reason to believe them car- nivorous. It is trom two or perhaps three localities only that the Proteus has been obtained. At Adclshurg, lutlie duchy of Carniola, belonging to Austria, there is one of the most extraordinary caverns in Europe, ex- tending many hundred feet below the surl'ace, termed the Grotto of the Maddiilena. The district around this cavern consists of bold rocks and moun- tains of liinestone Ibrmation. Beneath these, at an enormous depth, are subterranean cavities, and im- mense reservoirs of water, buried lakes, whence many rivr^rs take (heir secret origin ; and it is from this vast reservoir that a small lake in the grotto of Maddalena is supplied, a lake in pitchy darkness, on which no sunbeam ever plays, enclosed by awful masses of rock, with ril'ts and chasms on every side, and above a canopy of drooping stalactites. On the soft nuid below the w.-.tei of this little lake, these singular creatures may be seen moving like small eels, endeavouring to tscape the unnatural glare of torch-light. Jt is not here, however, that the Protei are bred, nor are they always to be found, and it is only alter great rains th:-it they are abundant. Besides this cavern at Adelsburg, where they were first discovered by the late Uarou Ziiis, they have been found, though rarely, at Sitiich, thiity miles distant, thrown up by water from a subter- ranean cavity, and Sn- II. Davy says : " I have lately heard it reported that some individuals of the same species have been recognised in the calcareous strala of Sicily." With regaid to their original abode, we agree with the same eminent writer ; his words are, "I think it cannot be doubted that their natural residence is in an extensive deep subterranean lake, from which in great floods they are sometimes forced through the crevices of the rocks into this place where they are found ; and it does not appear to me impossible, when the peculiar nature of tiie country is considered, that the same great cavity may furnish the individuals which have been found at Adelsburg and at Sittich." Many have entertained the idea that these ani- mals are tadpoles, or the larvae of some unknown creature ir.habiting the subterranean waters ; this idea is, however, sufficiently proved to be incorrect : they are perfect animals with gills and lungs. "This animal is, 1 dare say, much larger than we now see it, when mature in its native place, but its comparative anatomy is exceedingly hostile to the idea that it is an animal in a state of transition. It has been found of various sizes, from the thickness of a quill to that of the thumb, but its form of organs has been always the same. And it adds one instance more to the numbers already known of the wonderful manner in which life is produced and perpetuated in every part of our globe, even in places which seem the least suited to organized existences." Referring to Fig. 2359, a represents the Skull, half the natural size; b, the bones of the Fore-foot. Fig. 2361 represents the Skull of the Proteus and three first vertebrae — «, as seen from below ; b, as seen from above. Fig. '23C2 represents the Skeleton of the Proteus — a, the Bones of the Fore-foot ; h, the Bones of the Hind-leg. 23G3. — The Striated Siren (SiVra striata). The Sirens are eel-like animals utterly destitute of hinder limbs, and the fore-limbs are reduced to small feeble rudiments, with four or three toes. There are three plumed gill-tufts on each side ; the head is small and flattened, the muzzle blunt; the eye is minute. There are ranges of teeth on the palate; the lower jaw is furnished with teeth, but not the upper. The vertebrae, which are very pe- culiar in form, have their articular faces hollow and united by cartilages, in the form of a double cone, as in fishes. F"ig. 2364 represents the Skeleton of Siren la- certina. Fig. 2365 the Head and Fore-limb — a, one of the dorsal vertebrae seen behind ; o, the same seen before. Of these animals, three species appear to be known, viz. : Siren lacertina, S. intermedia, and S. striata. The Lacertine Siren grows to the length of three feet, and has lour toes on each foot. It in- habits the marshy grounds of Carolina, especially tliose where rice is cultivated, and lives in ttie mud, or muddy water, and occasionally crawls on the dry ground. Worms and insects are its food, but Dr. Garden, who discovered it in 1765, and sent a specimen to Linnaeus, asserts that it will devour snakes, and also state's tluit it utters a sound like the voice of a young duck ; both these points, how- ever, are denied by Barton ; its colour is blackish. In 1841, a lively specimen was living in the Zoological Gardens. It was kept in a vessel ot pond-water, with a deep bottom of mud, in which it buried itself; it fed upon earth-worms, devouiing a dozen and a half every other day. It was about twenty inches long, and very eel-like in all its move- ments. The Siren striata is a small species, about nine inches long, with three toes only on each foot. It is ol'ablackish colour, with two longitudinal vellow stri|iesdown each side. At F"ig. 2363, a shows the Head, Branchiie, and Fore-foot." According to the testimony of various microsco- pic observers (Professors Wagner, Van der Hoeven, Owen, &c.), the magnitude of the blood globules in the perennibranchiate amphibia is very extra- ordinary. In the Proteus, indeed, they "may be observed by the naked eye ; in the Siren, as ob- served by Professor Owen, they are also very large, forming a great contrast to those of liigher rejitilcs, birds, and mammalia. Fig. 2366 shows a compari- son, by Professor Oweu, ot the blood-discs of Man and the Siren, drawn by the Camera lucida under a magnifying power of seven hundred linear dimen- sions, a, Human Blood-discs ; (/. the same viewed edgewise : b, Siren's Blood-discs ; //, the same viewed edgewise : c. Folds of External Capsule, produced by desiccation ; d, Capsule of Nucleus j e, Nu- cleoli. 2367.— The Necturus (JVectums lateralis, Rafinesque). Menobranchiis lateralis, Harlan ; Phaiierobranchus lateralis, Kilzin. In the genus Necturus (Menobranchus, Harlan) the body is modera'ely elongated, the tail flattened at the sides, the branchial plumes large ; there is a row of palatal teeth, and a parallel biit more ex- tensive row of maxillary teeth. The limbs are four in number, very small, with four toes each. I'he Necturus lateralis inhabits the great lakes of North America, and attains to the length of two or three feet. Its general colour above is olive with blackish dots; a line along the muzzle blackish; under-parts blackish, variegated with spots of olive. Of its habits little is known. 2368, 236D.— The Axolotl (Siredon pisciformis, Wagler). Siren pisciformis, Shaw; Gyrinus edulis, Hernandez; Menobranchus pisciformis, Harlan. This fish-like amphibian is remarkable for the three long fringed processes on each side of the neck, forming conspicuous gill-tuits. The limbs are four; the anterior are furnished with lour toes, the hinder with five; there are teeth in both jaws as well as palatal teeth, aggregated in numeious rows, and rasp-like, as in certain fishes ; the tail is compressed at the sides like that of a water-newt, and furnished above and below by a membianous fin ; the muzzle is blunt, and the eyes are small. Referring to Fig. 2369, the sketch accompanying the figure represents the Under Jaw and Throat of the animal as seen from beneath, in order to show the singular form of the gills. At Fig. 2368— a re- presents the Mouth open, and viewed in front, to show the teeth. The Axolotl is a native of Mexico, and common in the lake surrounding the city of that name; and according to Baron Humboldt is also found in cold \vaters of mountain lakes at a much greater eleva- tion above the level of the sea than the plain in which the city of Mexico is situated. Tliis animal is commonly sold in the markets of that city, and is esteemed a luxury by the inhabitants ; it is dressed alter the manner of stewed eels, and served up with a rich sauce. Hernandez says that it is agreeable and v\'holesome. For a long time the Axolotl was regarded as the tadpole or larva of some unknown batrachian, and was so regarded by Cuvier, till he prepared the last edition of his ' Rcgne Animal,' and even there he seems to retain a degree of doubt respecting it. His words in a note are, "Ce n'est encore qu'avec doute que je place I'Axolotl parmi les genres a branchies pernianentes ; mar. tant de temoins assurent qu'il ne les peid pas, que je ray vols obligfi." Repeated observations, however, have fully es- tablished the fact that the Axolotl is truly a perenni- branchiate amphibian : Humboldt, in his ' Observa- tions de Zoologie,' has entered into minute details of its anatomy. The length of the Axolotl is eight or ten inches : the general colour is uniform deep greyish brown, everywhere thickly mottled with small round black spots. The communicalions which open from the gills into the mouth are four in number and of a size considerably larger than in the allied genera. They are covered externally by a species of oper- culum formed by a fold in the skin of the head. END OF THE CLASS REPTILES. I3ta— ProMaa. aMa— Sinsdon, or Aiolotl. *^%1!L i3(C.— Blood <)»« ct Man and Siren. «S<8.— StiiUnl Siiea. 23M.— Skeleton of Piotcui. ;3-,839 168, -259 178,(100 85,079 192,317 114,192 Exported Barrels. 217,499 220,684 272,093 158,805 273,393 189,265 The number of boats and fishermen and other persons employed in taking, cleaning, curing, and packing cod and herrings, in each of the six years to April, 1837, were as follows: — V T«K.. Number Number Total Year. iriS^ <>' F'«''- of Coopers, Number .ermen. Curers, Sec. employed. 1832.. ..11,059 49,164 31,402 80,566 1833 11,008 48,181 33,274 81,455 183-1 11,284 49,212 33,054 82,266 1835.... 11, 359 49,462 32,861 82,323 1836.. ..11, 427 49,720 37,178 86,898 1837 11,494 51,907 34,626 86,533 During a favourable season 100,000 mackerel are brought to Billinsgate market every week; we say nothing of soles, turbot, whiting, haddocks, salmon, eels, &c., &c. ; for want of space prevents our entering into details. But to turn from the fisheries of our own and other European nations, to liow many tribes of savage people do not the magazines of the ocean afford the almost exclusive means of subsistence ? Look, for instance, at the natives of Nootka Sound, and see the rude cabin stored with fish, dried and smoked, which with the roe pre- pared, and forming what Cook called their " bread," constitute their winter diet. (Fig. 2371.) We might easily add other instances, but it is needless ; they will suggest themselves to our reader. Tenants of the waters of our globe, the organiza- tion of these animals expressly fits them for their liquid element. They are clothed neither with hair nor feathers, but with smooth scales, often beauti- fully bright and delicate, giving uniformity of surface to a compact contour, admirably adapted for pro- gress through the waters. Some, it is true, have a hard osseous envelope, as the Ostraceans ; and others are arrayed in a panoply of spines, as the Tetrao- dons, and Diodons, which remind us of the hedge- hog. There are some also, as the eel, the cod-fish, shark, &c., which have the skin naked, smooth, and slippery. As is the case with terrestrial ani- mals, they vary in their habits and powers of loco- motion: some move slowly along, others cleave the waves with the velocity of an arrow, bear up the rapids, and clear the falls with wonderful energy. Many persons regard the fins as the principal organs of locomotion in fishes, but these, in fact, are principally used as balancers of the body, as agents in turning the direction of the animal's course, or of guiding it as it swims along. It is the tail or elongated muscular extremity of the fish, tipped with a broad expanded web or fin, which constitutes the efficient organ of locomotion. The fish sculls itself along by rapid strokes from side to side, as may be seen by disturbing one of these animals wWl« at rest and watching its actions. It is by the movements of the same organ, only more violently exerted, that the fish leaps out of the water, and springs at insects, or clears the waterlall ; and we may further observe that it is only in such fishes as have the tail muscular and powerful, and the body compactly shaped, that this faculty of leaping exists. The large-headed, slender-tailed cod-fish cannot leap, but the salmon and trout will spring several feet above the surface of the water. The use of the fins as balancers was proved by the experiments of Boulli, who observed, that when both the ventral and pectoral fins of fishes were cut off, all their mo- tions were unsteady, and they reeled from right to left, and up and down, in a very irregular man- ner. In adverting to the movements of fishes, we must here notice that internal sac generally known under the name of the swimming bladder. This consists of a reservoir of air placed beneath the spine, and varying in form and size in different species ; in some, as ihe perch, it is simple, and closed at both ex- tremities; in the carp it is large, and divided into two portions: sometimes a communication exists between this sac and the gullet, or, as in the her- ring, between it and the stomach. The gas with which this sac is filled is generally found to be nitrogen; but in fishes that live at a great depth, the gas has been ascertained by MM. Configliac- chi and Biot to be chiefly oxygen. It is, according to the opinion of most naturalists, by the compres- sion of this s.ac that the fi.-ih is enabled to sink, the specific gravity of the body being altered by the degrees of contraction or expansion to which the sac is subjected. In many fishes, however, this swimming bladder is wanting, as in the red mullet and the mackerel. Mr. Yarrell says, that one-fourth of the fishes known are without air-bladders, and that two-thirds of the other three-fourths have the air- bladder entirely closed, having neither canal nor aperture for external communication. Fig. 2372 represents the Swimming Bladder of two fishes. — A, the Dace; a, the Stomach; b, the Swimming- bladder: B, the Conger-Eel; a, the Stomach; b, the Swimming-bladder. We need scarcely observe that fishes respire through the medium of water, by branchiae or gills forminga series of vascular fringes supported by bones termed the branchial arches, generally four in num- ber on each side. The water is taken in through the mouth and passed out over the gills so as to lave them thoroughly and oxygenate the blood. The gills are covered by a flap called the opercu- lum or gill-cover, composed of four pieces, the priEoperculum, the operculum par excellence, the subopeiculum, and the interoperculum ; besides these, there is a membrane supported by a row of slender bones springing from each branch of the OS hyoides, so as to clo.se the great fissure beneath. This membrane is called the branchi- ostegous membrane, and the slender bones the branchiostegous rays. The heart consists of one auricle and one ventricle. The teeth of fishes in general are organs of pre- hension, and vary in form, number, and situation ; often the whole of the inside of the mouth is armed with them; not only are the jaws furnished with them, but the palate, the pharynx, and the tongue itself. In the carp tribe, there are no teeth in the jaws, but there are pharyngal teeth, so dis- posed as to work upon a broad three-sided plate, supported by the basilar bone at the base of the skull, and by this is the aliment bruised before pass- ing into the stomach. There are no salivary glands, and the sense of taste is not acute. The organs of smell are simple cavities which have no communication with the mouth, and are lined with a pituitary membrane variously folded, evidently to increase the extent of sentient surface over which the fibrils of the olfactory nerve are spread. The sight of fishes is generally quick and accurate, and the eye is expre.ssly organized for acjuatic vision; the crystalline lens is large, dense, and globular, approximating to the flat cornea, the a(iueous chamber being very inconsiderable, and the aqueous humour only sufficient to allow the free suspension of the iris. There are no eyelids. It cannot be doubted that fishes hear ; they have, how- ever, no external auditory apparatus, nor a tympanic cavity, but a labyrinth, viz. three semicircular canals, communicating with a vestibular cavity filled with a transparent glairy fluid, and enclosing certain hard bodies called otolitlies, generally ihree in number, suspended by delicate filaments. We have said that fishes are r.sually covered with scales, dif- fering in size and arrangement; one row of scales along each side, forming the lateral line, is generally Perches.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 139 Series I. Ossei Section 1. Pectinibianchii Order 1. Acantliopterygii Family Percidse Family Theutyes Loricati Scicenidae Spaiidae Msenidae Sqiiamipinnali Scombridae Taenioid* Pharyngiens laby- rinthiformes Mugilidae Gol)iadae Lophiadie Labiidae Centriscidsp Malacopterygii 2. Siibbrachiales Family Gadidie Pleuronectidse Discoboli Echeneidida Order 2 1. Abdominales Family Cyprinidae Esocidse Siluiida; Salmonida Clupeidae Order 3. Apodes Fara. — Murscnidae Section 2. Plcctognalbi Fam. — Gymnodontidce : Sclerodcrim Vol. II. very conspicuous, each scale being pierced through near the centre by a tube, from which oozes a mucous secretion, the product of glands beneath; with this mucus the external surface is lubricated. Among the external organs which afford charac- ters for the discrimination of genera, families, and orders, the tins assume an important place ; they differ in number and form, and have different names according to their situation. In some instances they are supported by slender pointed processes of bone, consisting each of a single undivided piece ; such are called spinous rays. In other cases the rays consist of a number of minute parts united together, and often terminating in several filamen- tous branches ; such rays from their pliant structure are termed soft or flexible rays. Two leading divi- sions in systematic arrangements are founded on this difference of structure. Referring to Fig. 2373, the Skeleton of the Perch, the fins and some of the more important points of structure are lettered for the sake of clearness : a is the pectoral fin of one side ; 6, the ventral ; c, c, are two dorsal fins, of which the first is supported by spinous rays, the second by flexible rays; d, the anal fin ; / is the maxillary or upper jaw bone ; e is the intermaxillary bone, a distinct bone from the maxillary; r/ is the operculum; h, the sub- operculum ; i, the prasopercukim ; /(, the interoper- culum ; the fin terminating the body is called the caudal fin. Araonsr existing fishes this is either simple, as in the eel ; bifurcate, as in the salmon ; expanded to a round figure, as in the wrasse ; or unequally bilobate, as in the shark. Fishes with the latter form of tail are termed by M. Agassiz Ileterocercal. the others are called Homocercal. See Fig. 2374, where a represents the Tail of the Eel ; b, the Salmon ; c, the Wrasse ; d, the Shark. The peculiarity of tlie Heterocercal fishes is that the vertebral column runs along the upper caudal lobe : in the other forms of tail it is symmetrically placed with respect to the posterior finny expansion. M. Agassiz has found this peculiarity of the tail, which is least common among living fishes, and confined to particular groups, to belong to every species of fishes, of whatever group, and however differing in other respects, which occur in strata older than the oolitic system, while in and above that system Homocercal forms appear. It is there- fore a characteristic of geological time ; and is one among several marks of the sauroid character of the fishes which lived in early geological periods. Fig. 237;") represents — A, the Upper Jaw of a Trout; e, the Intermaxillary Bone ; /, the Maxillary Bone : B, the front view of the Mouth of the Trout, open ; I, the Vomer, one of the palate bones furnished with teeth; >n, m, the Palatal Bones, also armed in the same manner ; n, the Tongue, with recurved teeth. Fig. 2376 is a fanciful picture of the depths of the sea, tenanted by fishes swimming through the silent tranquil waters, undisturbed by the storms that agitate the surface ; Fig. 2377, a Group of Fishes. In all fishes, the skeleton is less firm, less con- solidated than in quadrupeds and birds ; yet in some are the bones more thoroughly ossified than in others, hence has Cuvier divided the present class into two primary series, namely, into Osseous Fishes (Ossei), and Cartilaginous (Cartilaginei or Chond- ropterygii). In the former, the osseous matter is deposited in fibres. The sutures of the cranium are distinct, and maxillary and intermaxillary bones are either one or both present. In the Cartilaginous fishes, the skeleton continues in a state of cartilage ; the sutures of the cranium are indistinct ; maxillary and intermaxillary bones are either wanting or rudimentary, their place being supplied by the palatal. The class is divided by Cuvier as follows : — ■ Section 3. Lophobranchii Fam. — Syngnathidae Series 11. Cartilaginei or Chondropterygii Order 1. Eleutheropomi Fam. — Sturionidae ; Chimaeridae Order 2. Plagiostomi Fam. — SqualidiE ; Raiidae Order 3. Cyclostomi Fam. — Pteromyzidae In the Ossei, or bony fishes, there are three sec- tions. Those of the first, the Pectinibranchii, possess the following characters : — Branchiae, in continuous pectinated ridges, furnished with an opercular and branchiostegous membrane ; jaws com- plete and free. Section 2, Plectognathi ; — Branchiaa with the pectinations continuous ; opeicule and rays concealed beneath the skin ; external aperture a simple cleft ; jaws incomplete ; maxillary firmly at- tached to the side of the intermaxillary, which alone forms the jaw ; palatine arch united to the cranium by suture, and immovable. To this section belong the globe-fishes, file-fishes, &c. Section 3, Lopho- branchii : — Branchiae in small tufts; opercule large, confined on all sides by a membrane, with only a small hole for the external aperture ; branchios- tegous rays rudimentary ; jaws complete and free. To this section belong the pipe-fishes, hippocam- pus, &c. The two latter sections contain but a limited num- ber of species : the Pectinibranchii, on the contrary, contain all the ordinary and typical fishes, and, as is seen in the foregoing list, is subdivided into three orders. The fishes of the first of these orders, the Acanthopterygii, are distinguished by their having the anterior part of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins furnished with simple spinous rays. The perches, mullets, gurnards, mackerels, &c., therefore belong to this order. In the second order, the Malacop- terygii, all the fin-rays are flexible, with the excep- tion sometimes of the first ray of the dorsal and pectoral fins. The three principal divisions of the Malacopterygii are founded either upon the position of certain fins, or their absence. In the first division, the Abdominales, the ventral fins are situated far behind the pectorals; as in the carp, tench, bream, dace, roach, pike, salmon, &c. In the second group, the Subbrachiales, the ventral fins are situated immediately beneath the pectorals (or even a little before them) ; as we find them in the cod-fish, haddock, and whiting. The flat fishes also belong to this group, such as the plaice, floun- der, turbot, sole, &c. To the third and last ofthese greater divisions of the Malacopterygii belong the eels, which have received the name Apodes, from their possessing no ventral fins. In illustration of the three orders into which the Cartilaginei are divided, the Sturgeon will serve as an example of the first, or the Eleutheropomi. The Plagiostomi contain the Sharks and Rays ; and the Lampreys and Myxines chiefly constitute the Cy- clostomi. ORDER ACANTHOPTERYGII, Family PERCID^ (PERCHES). 2378.— The Perch {Perca fluviatilis). In the genus Perca there are two dorsal fins, distinct^ from each other : the rays of the first fin are spinous, of the second flexible. The tongue is smooth; there are teeth in both jaws on the vomer and palate bones, praeopercukim notched below and serrated on the posterior edge ; opercu- lum o.sseous, ending in a point directed backwards. Branchiostegous rays seven ; scales hard. The perch, which was well known to the ancients, is one of our most common freshwater fishes, abounding in rivers, lakes, and ponds ; especially such as are clear, where it is fond of lurking in shoals under the banks, or of swimming near the surface. It is spread throughout the whole of tem- perate Europe, and exists in Lapland. Its food consists of insects, worms, and fishes, which it seizes with great voracity. Walton, indeed, describes the perch as " a very bold-biting fish," — whence it is an easy prey to the angler, who often captures on his hook considerable numbers in rapid succession, one after another eagerly taking the bait. Mr. Turton, an experienced angler of Sheffield, mentions an instance in which sixty perch were taken by the red worm, during a few hours, one evening, out of a reservoir near Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire. This fish is easily tamed, and may be made so familiar as to take food from the hancl. Mr. .Jesse informs us, that in a piscatorium or pre- serve at Bushy Park, the perches proved the boldest and most familiar of any fish, and that he soon found no difficulty in getting them to take a worm out of his hand. The perch, like the carp, is very tenacious of life, and if packed in wet moss, and occasionally refreshed with water, it will live for many hours ; indeed, in some parts of the Continent, they are taken from the pond in the raorniuir, carried thus to the market, and, if not sold, restored to their liquid home in the evening. Those who handle the perch alive, should be careful of the sharp spinous rays of the first dorsal fin, by which we have known the fingers lacerated. This species difl'ers much in size, appa- rently according to the quality of the water and nutriment. They in general average from half a pound to a pound ; a perch of three pounds would be considered as very large : Mr. Jesse stairs, that " great numbers of perch are bred in the Hampton Court and Bushy Park ponds, all of which are well supplied with running water, and with plenty of food. Yet they seldom arrive at a large size. In a neighbouring pond, which is only fed with drainage water, I have caught very large perch. The perch in the Regent's Park are very numerous. Those I have taken, however, are almost invariably of one size, from half to three-quarters of a. pound. Why they should have arrived at this size, and not go on increasing in magnitude, is a circumstance wiiich it is not easy to account for. I have, however, re- marked it to be the case in other ponds." Mr. Yarrell gives many instances of enormous perch having been taken in difterent places, varying from five to nine pounds in weight. The flesh of the perch is firm, white, and of good flavour. The spawning time is at the end of April or beginning of May. The roe of a small perch, only half a pound in weight, has been found to contain 280,000 eggs. The form and colours of the perch are too well known to need description. We may observe, how- ever, that there are two external openings to each nostril, surrounded by the orifices of numerous mu- cous ducts, from which oozes a secretion for defending the skin from the action of the water. On this Mr. Yarrell remarks, "the distribution of the nu- inerous orifices over the head is one of those beau- tiful and advantageous provisions of nature, which are so often to be observed and admired. Whether the fish inhabits the stream or the lake, the current of water in one instance, or progression through it in the other, carries this defensive secretion back- wards and spreads it over the whole surface of the body. In fishes with small scales this defensive secretion is more abundant in proportion ; and in those species which have the body elongated, as the eels, the mucous orifices may be observed along the whole length of the lateral line. The following is the formula of the fin-roys : — D. 15. 1-1-13. P. 14. V. 1-1-5. A. 2-1-8. C. 17. The meaning is this : D., the dorsal, has in the first fin 15 rays all spinous ; in the second fin, 1 spinous, and 13 that are soft. P., the pectoral fin, has 14 soft rays. V., the ventral fin, with 1 spinous ray, and 5 that are soft. A., the anal fin, with 2 spinous and 8 that are soft. C, the caudal fin, with 17 rays. The formula, abbreviated as above, is very convenient, and easily understood. 2379, 2380.— The Basse (Labrax Lupus). Perca labrax, Linn. In its ge- neric characters, Labrax closely approximates to Perca ; the cheeks, praeoperculum and operculum are covered with scales ; the praeoperculum is notched below, and serrated posteriorly ; the oper- culum ends in two points directed backwards ; the tongue is covered with small teeth. This Basse may be regarded as a marine perch, and was known to the Greeks by the name of La- brax (^aJ3paf), from Labros (\a$pos), voracious ; the Romans from its disposition called it Lupus, or wolf. It was caught abundantly in the Mediter- ranean, and highly esteemed for the table. It is found along the whole line of our southern coast, and in St. George's and the Bristol Channel. It also frequents the eastern shore of the Irish coast. The Basse associates in shoals, which at the spawning time frequent the mouths of rivers, or even advance up the stream to a considerable dis- tance ; indeed, as has been proved by Mr. Arnold, this fish will not only live, but thrive in fresh water altogether, the flesh acquiring a superior flavour. This fish generally measures from twelve to eijhteen inches in length, but is often caught much larger, and Willughby states that individuals have beeii captured of the weight of fifteen pounds. Its food consists of small fishes and various crus- taceans ; and as it takes the bait lieely it may be cap- tured with the rod and line. The net is most gene- rally employed. On the Kentish coast the Basse is. termed the sea-dace. In its form this fi.sh is more elongated than the perch. The nostrils have two orifices ; the mucous pores are numerous. The general colour of the- back is dusky blue, passing on the under-parts into- silvery white; the fins are brown; the irides sil- very ; the scales are moderate and adhere firmly. 2381.— The Black Basse {Centrophtis nigricans). The genus Centropistis belongs to the ilivision of the Percidae with bran- T2 SMt^Ait«^|^>.-.'-J-«-. nW^Peteb. 2386.— IndiiQ Flying Guraud. 9SHS.— Four-nyed Polynemu. «3<4 — Streaked Gurnard. 2380.— Bwae. 140 939U— Iir.iize. 2389.— Fifteen spined Stickleback. 2390.— CmnidiMri Cheik)dactyl«. 23SS, — Japanese Pogge. 2387.— Miller's Thumb. 2393.— Mackerel. 2396 — Mackerel. 2394,-Bat Cliatodon. 2392.— Wandering Cheetodon. 141 142 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Gdrnards. chiostegoiis rays.Rnd a single dorwil fin. the antenor portion of which is supported by spinous rays ; the teeth are fine, strong, recurved, and closely set ; tlie privopercuUim is serrated, and the operculum with a spine directed backwards. The black basse or bJack perch is abundant in the rivers of the United States of America, where it attains to a large siie, and is in much request for the table. When young, the caudal fin is remark- able lor a central point between the upper and under points, which are much produced. In old individuals, this additional apex becomes almost obsolete. In the young stage, this species is the Perca trifurca of Linnsus. the Lutgan trilobc of I^cepide. The general colour of this species above is intense olive green, passing into pinkish on the under parts; the dorsal fin is bluish with paler streaks ; the other fins arc deep blue ; the caudal fin is i-potted. 2382.— Artedi's Polynemus (Polifnemus Artedli. Renn.). The genus Polynemus belongs to that section of the Percidae characterized by Cuvier as having the ventral fins placed more backward than the pectoral fins, while under the latter are long filaments, free rays of those fins, not united by membi-ane to the rest. The teeth are minute and so densely crowded, as to resemble the pile of velvet, or rather the teeth of a carding ma- chine. They are found on both jaws as well as on the vomer and palate bones ; the eyes are large, the doi-sal fins widely separated ; the caudal fin is ample, and more or less forked. The prseoperculum is ser- rated, and the operculum many-spined. Artedi's Polynemus was confounded by Cuvier with an allied species from the Bay of Bengal, and the estuaries of the Ganges, known as the Tupsee or Mango fish (P. longitilis. Cuv.), and was first discriminated by the late E. T. Bennett, Esq., who described it in the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc," Nov. 1831, p. 140. It is a native of the Atlantic coast of Northern Africa. Like the Mango fish it is re- markable for the length of five free pectoral rays, on each side, extending beyond the body. 2383.— The Four-ra.yed Polynemus {Polynemus gaadrifilis). This species is also from the African coast, but the four free rays of the pec- toral fins are comparatively short. The following is an interesting extract of some observations, relative to several of the Indian species of this genus, in the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' July, 1839, by Dr. Cantor :— "In the December number, 1838, of Parbury's ' Oriental Herald,' appears a letter ' On the Suleah Fish of Bengal, and the Isinglass it affords:' the description of this fish I shall quote in the words of the anonymous writer. 'The Suleah Fish,' he ob- serves, ' when at its full size, runs about four feet in length, and is squalilorm, resembling the shark species in appearance, but exhibiting a more deli- cate structure than the latter. The meat of this fish is exceedingly coarse, and is converted by the natives, when salted and spiced, into "burtah," a Siquant relish, well known at the breakfast tables of iengal. The bladder of the Suleah may be consi- dered the most valuable part of it, which, when ex- posed to the sun and suffered to dry, becomes purely pellucid, and so hard that it will repel the edge of a sharp knife when applied to it. These bladders vary from half a pound to three-quarters of a pound avoirdupois in weight, when perfectly dry ... . The Suleah Fish abounds in Channel Creek, off Saugor, and in the ostia or mouths of all the rivers which intersect the Sunderbuns, and are exceedingly plen- tiful at certain seasons.' " Conceiving the great importance of the dis- covery of isingla-os being a product of India, I was naturally anxious to examine the source, arising from a branch of natural history to which in parti- .. cular I have devoted my attention ; but from the I gen'iral nature of the description, I was obliged to i defer my desire of identifying the fish till some future opportunity should enable me to do so. Quite unexpectedly, however, a few days ago, the last overland despatch brought me a letter from my valued friend M. McClelland, a corresponding mem- ber of this Society, an extract of which, bearing upon the point in question. I lose no time in laying before the Society : — ' I have now to mention what is of far greater importance in another point of view, namely, that the Suleah Fish described in a recent number of Parbury's ' Oriental Herald ' is the Poly- nemus Sele of Hamilton. I have examined that species, and found an individual of two pounds weight to yield sixty-five grains of pure isinglass, an article which here sells at sixteen rupees (U. 12s.) per lb. Refer to your dissections of Polynemi ; mark those with large air-vessels to be isinglass, re- quiring no other preparation than merely removing the vascular membrane that covers them, washing with lime-water, and drying in the sun. You know the size these fishes attain, andlhe number in which they abound in the Stinderbuns; you also know the method of taking them, and can therefore state to what extent isinglass may be obtained in India. I htve sent a paper on the subject to the .lournal of the •.\8iatic Society, which I will send you by the next overland despatch.' " Family LORICATI (HARD-CHEEKED ACAN- THOITERYGIANS, as GURNARDS, &c.). The Loricati are described by Cuvier as fishes of singular aspect, having the head variously spined and cuirassed, but in many respects approaching the Percidae. 2384. — The Streaked Gurnaro. (Ttigla lineata). The Gurnards, of which we have several British species, are known by the squared form of the head, covered with bony plates, the gill- cover and shoulder-plate ending in a spine directed backwards : the body is tapering ; there are two dorsal fins ; the rays of the first are spinous. Teeth in both jaws and on the vomer, small, pointed, and numerous. Branchiostegous rays seven ; gill-open- ing large : three detached rays at the base of each pectoral fin. The Sapphirine Gurnard, Trigla Hi- nindo, is common in the fishmongers' shops of London, with its ample pectoral tins spread out, giving it a strange appearance. When taken out of the sea these fishes emit a grunting or croaking noise at intei-vals, for a considerable time. They are very tenacious of life, and mostly swim near the bottom in deep water. The swimming-bladder is large, in some species simple, in others divided into two or three lobes, with strong lateral compressor muscles. Their food consists principally of Crus- tacea. The streaked gurnard is a rare species near our shores, but is common in the Mediterranean, about the Canary Islands, and Teneriffe. It seldom ex- ceeds twelve or fourteen inches in length. The head of this species is short, the profile abruptly oblique ; the spines about the head are moderate ; and the body exhibits transverse lines extending from the ridge of the back down each side, every line consisting of two rows of square ciliated scales. The general colour of the body .and fins is a rich red ; the latter are often marbled and edged with a darker tint; the pectoral fins are marbled trans- versely with blue. Under parts white. 2385.— The Piper {Trvjla Lyra). This species, like the preceding, is rare about our shores, but is common in the Me- diterranean. It measures about two feet in length, and weighs between three and four pounds. Its name of Piper is supposed to be derived from the noise it utters when captured, and which is doubt- less occasioned by the forcible pressure cf the muscles on the swimming bladder. Its flesh is con- sidered excellent. The head of the piper is large ; the nasal projections considerable ; the opercular spines bold and sharp ; the serrations of the ridge of the back very decided. The general colour is a brilliant red, pas.sing on the under parts into silvery white. 2386. — The Indian Flying Gurnard {Dactylopterus orientalis). Flying-fishes, as they are termed, occur in two very distinct orders : there are the Flying Gurnards of the Acanthopter)'gious order; and the Flying-Fishes of the Malacoplerygious order, constituting the genus Exocetus; and be- tween these in their narratives voyagers seldom dis- criminate. We read their accounts, but are left in complete uncertainty not only as to the species, but the general characters of the fish whose aerial evolutions they are detailing. The flying gurnards (Dactylopterus) may be at once distinguished from the ordinary gurnards by the enormous development of the pectoral fins, or rather, of the subpectoral rays, which are free in the latter, but are in these species enormously lengthened, very numerous, and connected together by a fine membrane. The muzzle is very short and abrupt; the jaws are paved with rounded teeth; th"; prsBoperculum terminates in a long sharp spine, constituting a formidable weapon ; the eyes are large ; the scales are all keeled. Two species are known, — the Common Flying Gurnard (D. volitans), abundant in the Mediterra- nean ; brown above, rose-coloured below, with the fins varied with blue on a black ground. It varies from a foot to fifteen inches in length. The Indian Flying Gurnard is a native of the Indian seas, and attains the length of twenty inches. Shoals of these fishes pursued by the dolphin, or bonito, having attained the necessary impetus in their course, suddenly rise into the air, where they skim onwards sustained for a short time by tlieir ample quivering pectoral fins, presenting a beauti- ful spectacle. After a brief career they descend again into the waters, and again re-appear at a dis- tance, and thus often continue till beyond reach of sight, all the lime chased by their pereevering ene- mies. When the flying-fish rises, it is exposed to fresh assailants. The frigat'e-bird and the albutrossare sailing on wide-spread wings over the sea, walching the movements of its finny fenant.s, and ready to sweep down with unerring aim upon the hapless fish that approaches the surface, or rises above it. Though these and other fishes are said to fly, their flight is a mere skim through the air, eft'ected by the parachute of their pectoral fins; to rise above the surface and dart onwards they require a powerful impulse, and this is given by their rapid course pre- viously, and by a sudden and vigorous action of the fail at the moment of rising. It is interesting to find animals thus furnished with parachutes among the mammalia, among the lizards, and among fishes. 2387. — The River Bullhead, or Miller's Thumb {Coitus Gobio). In the genus Cotfus the head is large and depressed ; there arc sharp small teeth on the vomer, and in the jaws. The gill-covers are armed with spines; branchiostegous rays six. Body slender, naked, without scales. Two dorsal fins ; ventral fins small. This little strange-looking fish is common in all the clear fresh-water streams of our islands, and the continent of Europe. We have seen it in abun- dance in small rivulets running over a gravelly or rocky bed, under the stones of which it generally lurks, or between the crevices, its dusky colour aiding its concealment. When disturbed it darts away very rapidly. Its food consists of the larv8B of aquatic insects, and small worms, at which it freely bites, but is seldom captured, except by chil- dren. It spawns in summer. This well-known fish rarely exceeds four or five inches in length. We need not enter into a detailed description. Its eyes, from the depression of the head, which is broad as a miller's thumb, look upwards. 2388. — The Japanese Pogge, or Armed Bullhead. (Aspidophonis accipenserinus) ; Agonus accipen- serinus, Bloch. In the genus Aspidophorus the body is octagonal, covered with scaly plates; the head is thick, with points and depressions above, flattened below ; teeth in the jaws only ; snout with recurved spines; branchiostegous rays six; body long and tapering; two dorsal fins distinct. One species, the Common Pogge, is found in our seas. It is of small size, about six inches in length, occurring in the Baltic, along the coast of Norway, and in the Northern Sea to Greenland and Iceland. It is also tolerably common along our southern coast, and still more so on the eastern, and is frequently taken at the mouth of the Thames.^ The body is divided longitudinally by eight scaly ridges, and defended by eight rows of strong scaly plates ; the under jaw is furnished with several minute eirrhi ; and the nose has three recurved spines. The Japanese Pogge is clearly allied to the British species, and is found in the North Pacific Ocean, along the coast of Japan, and northwards a» far as Behring's Straits. Its food consists of small crustaceans. 2389. — The Fifteen-spinkd Stickleback {Gasterosleus spmocJiia, Linn.). The Sticklebacks are little fishes found respectively both in fresh and salt water, having the body without scales, but more or less plated on the sides : there is only one dorsal fin with the free sharp spines, varying in number, before it ; the ventral fin is in the form of a strong spine without other rays; the abdomen is protected by an osseous cuirass, formed by a union of the pelvic and humeral bones. Branchiostegous rays three. Of this genus Mr. Yarrell describes the following British species. The Rough-tailed stickle- back (G. trachurus), common in both salt and fresh water; the Half-armed stickleback (G. semiarmatus), found with the preceding ; the Smooth-tailed stickle- back (G. leiurus), also common ; the Short-spined stickleback (G. brachycentrus) found in the streams, ponds, and sea of the north of Ireland ; the Four- spined stickleback (G. spinulosus), found near Edin- burgh ; the Ten-spined (G. pungitius), found both in the sea and rivers; and the Filteen-spined stickle- back (G. spiuacliia). The latter is of more elon- gated form than the others, and is common around our coast, and in the Baltic, seldom, however, as- cending rivers. It is fierce and voracious, devouring the fry of other fishes, crustaceans, &c. Like all the sticklebaefis it is very pugnacious, attacking other fishes with determined ferocity. Mr. Yarrell gives the following account of its habits, as supplied by Mr. Couch. " It keeps near rocks and stones covered with seaweeds, among which it takes refuge upon any alarm. Though less active than its breth- ren of the fresh water, it is scarcely less rapacious. On one occasion I noticed a specimen six inches in length engaged in taking its prey from a clump of Mackerel.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 143 I oreweed, doins which it assumed every posture iroin the liorizontal and perpendicular, with its head downward or upward, thrusting its snout into the crevices of the stems, and seizing its prey witti a spring. Having taken this fish with a net, and transferred it to a vessel of water in company with an eel three inches in length, it was not long before the latter was attacked, and devoured head fore- most ; not indeed altogether, for the eel was too large a morsel to be managed, so that the tail re- mained hanging out of the mouth ; and it was obliged at last to disgorge the eel partly digested. It also seized from the surface a moth that fell on the water, but threw up the wings. The effect of the passions on the colour of the skin of this species is remarkable ; and the specimen now spoken of, under the influence of terror, from a dark olive with golden sides, changed to pale for eighteen hours, when it as suddenly regained its (ormer tints. It spawns in spring, and the young, not half an inch in length, are seen in considerable numbers at the margin of the sea in summer." Family SCJyENID^ (THE MAIGRES). 2390. — C.\rmich.^el's Cheilodactyle {Chetlodacfylus monodacbjlvs). The genus Cheilo- dactylus, one of the genera of the family Sciaenidip, has the body oblong, the mouth small ; the spiny rays of the dorsal fin, and also of the pectoral, are simple, and prolonsed beyond the membrane. Carmichael's Cheilodactyle is very common on the coast of the island of Tristan d'Acunha, where it feeds upon a species of seaweed, fucus pyrif'erus. It is about eighteen inches in length ; the teeth are small and crowded ; the pectoral tin is large, with fifteen rays, the si.x lower of which are simple, and project beyond the membrane, the sixth from the lowermost being greatly elongated. The general colour is olive or bronze, with six dark stripes on the back ; pectoral tins amber; the rest blackish. Family SPARID^ (SEA BREAMS). 2391. — Thk Braize, or Becker {Pn/jnis vulgaris) ; Sparus pagras, Linn. In the genus Pagrus there are four or six conical teeth in front, with a number of smaller conical teeth behind them, and two rows of rounded molar teeth on each side of both jaws. The body is deep and compressed ; dorsal fin single ; cheeks and operculum covered with scales; branchiostegous rays six. This fish, with the Gilt-head, the Maigre, the Umbrina, and other allied species, is found in the Mediterranean, along the coasts of France, Spain, and Ilaly. It appears on the Cornish coast in mo- derately deep water in summer and autumn, mi- grating on the approach of winter. The general colour ofthe Braize is silvery, tinged with red; the tins are tinged with rose-colour; the pectorals red. Formula of fin-rays as follows: — D. 12-f 10, P. 15. V. 1-1-5, A. 3-h8, C. 17. Family SQUAMIPINNATI (CHiETODONS, &c., with the spiny parts of the dorsal fin encrusted with scales). 2392. — The Wandering ChjEtodoh (CiiBtodon vagabtindus). The Chaetodons are beau- tifully-coloured fishes of singular figure, abounding in the seas ofthe hotter climates. Their most com- mon tints are black and yellow, but metallic blues and greens are not unfrequent. Sometimes the colours are disposed in spots ; mostly, however, in stripes or bands. The body is deep, often almost circular, and compressed : the tail short ; the mouth small, with several closely set rows of long slender bristle-like teeth. The air-bladder is large, and the alimentary canal long and ample. They generally haunt rocky shores ; their flesh is accounted ex- cellent. In the restricted genus Chaetodon the scales ex- tend on to the dorsal and anal fins, so as to cover their base. The rays ofthe dorsal fin form a tole- rably uniform curve, and the snout is produced. The Wandering Chaetodon is a native of the coasts of Ceylon ; the ground colour of the body is yellow, with numerous oblique brownish purple lines ; a broad black vertical band extends through the eye. The dorsal fin is blackish, and has thirteen spinous rays: the Iftil is yellow with black bands, and the adjacent fin is black with a bent yellow stripe, and a yellow margin. Length ten or twelve inches. Oije species, the Chsetodon rostratus, with a long- . snoui, is remarkable lor the manner in which it takes ii. sects, by shooting drops of water at them as they rest on the rocks or plants al)Out the shore, so as to bring them down, when it seizes and devours them. The ('hmese in .Java, it is said, are in the habit of amusing themselves with its feats. Another fish of the same family, the Archer (Toxotesjaculator), takes ijisects in the same man- ner, and will throw the drops of water to the dis- tance of three or four feet, rarely missing its aim. It is also a native of the sea round .Java. There is a group of fishes commonly termed " doctors," in consequence of being provided with two very sharp and movable spines, like lancets, one on each side of the tail, and with which they inflict a very severe wound on the hands of those who touch them incautiously ; hence they are well known to the sailors visiting the tropical seas. The mouth is small, the muzzle rather prominent ; the teeth are trenchant and denticulated, like a very fine comb. They are among the comparatively limited number of fishes which subsist on vegetable aliment, algi, fuci, and other marine plants con- stituting their food. Peaceful and inoffensive, they wander about the submerged rocks clothed with luxuriant vegetation, and never voluntarily make an attack, but content themselves with repelling the assaults of their enemies, using their weapons with great energy. The species are found about the shores both of the East and West Indies, and their flesh is said to have a peculiar flavour. 2393. — The Surgical Ch«todon (Acanihurus chirurgiuij. This species, which was first described by Bloch, is a native of the Indian seas. It was regarded by him as a chaetodon, but the genus Acanthurus of Lacepede, of which it forms one of the examples, is separated from the chselodons by Cuvier into a distinct family, "Les Theutyes," all the groups of which are herbivorous. To this family it of right belongs, hvX we here allude to it, as it is the chaetodon chirurgius of Bloch. 2394. — The Bat Ch.etodov {Platux vesperlilio). The genus Platax is remarkable for the extremely compressed form of the body, the wing-like elevation ofthe dorsal fin, and the length of the ventral fins, and of that adjacent to the fail. The jaws are furnished with a row of trenchant teeth divided into three points, and behind fheiii is a number of thickly set fine teeth, (dents en brosse). The recent species are restricted to the Indian seas. One has been found in a fossil state at Mount Bolca. The Platax vespertilio is a native of the coast of Ceylon, inhabiting deep water, often among rocks ; it attains to a large size. Its general colour is yellowish, mottled with dark brown; a blackish stripe extends downwards through the eye ; the fins are brown. Family SCOMBRID.^ (SCOMBERS, MACKE- REL, TUNNIES, SWORDFISH, &c.). This family is composed of a number of fishes with small scales and a smooth body; having the tail and caudal fin very vigorous. " It is," says Cuvier, '■ one of the families the most useful to man, from the agreeable flavour and size of the species, while their inexhaustible re- production leads them back periodically to the same localities, and thus renders them the objects of fisheries on the most extensive plan." 2395, 2396.— The Mackerel or Mackerel (Scomber scombrus). In the genus Scomber there are two dorsal fins widely separated, and some por- tions of the posterior dorsal fin and its opposite beneath, form detached, or as they are called, false fins ; the sides of the tail are slightly carinated ; there is one row of small conical teeth in each jaw ; branchiostegous rays seven. We need not describe this beautiful fish resplen- dent in green and silver barred with a dusky tint, nor insist upon its excellence as an article of food, prized alike at the table of the wealthy and of the humble. The mackerel approaches the coast in large shoals, and it was formerly considered that its an- nual movements were from northern to southern latitudes, and from southern to northern ; but this fish is to be met with in our own seas at all seasons of the year, though in the winterthey are not found in great numbers ; and the situation of those parts of the coast where they make their first appearance disproves the fact of their migrating only in a southern direction when the season has become more genial, as they frequently appear on a south- ern part of the coast before they have visited its northern limits. On the Cornish coast, wnich the fish often visit so early as the month of March, the course of the shoals seems to be from west to east. This year the fishing season on the Sussex coast commenced early in February, and some were taken in January, but the number wai small, and they were sold in London at from one to two shillings each. When the fishermen commence very early in the year, they have to proceed a considerable distance out to sea, as the fish do not approach the coast until a more advanceii pariod. May and June are the busiest months lor mackerel fishing. In the latter month they spawn, the female roe con- taining above half a million ova. The process of de- positing spawn takes place earlier on a sandy and shallow shore than on a rugged coast, the former being also more favourable to vivjficalion. Pre- vious to winter, the young retire to deep wafer. The mackerel may be considered as frequenting- nearly every part ofthe coasts otthe United Kingdom, but it is most abundant on the southern portion of Great Britain, on the coasts of Sussex, Kent, Hamp- shire, and the western counties, and on those of Suflfolk and Norfolk. They do not make their ap- pearance on the Scotch coast until late in the sum- mer. Whatever may be the fact as to their migra- tion to the Arctic seas, the tbilowing statement, taken from the ' Edinburgh Journal of Science,' shows that they are found in those latitudes under singular circumstances :— " Admiral Pleville-l^pley, who had had his home on the ocean Jor half a cen- tury, assured M. Lacep.— Selling F»h by Dutch Auction. 144 240i.— Dondo. 8402. — Starred Coryphaena 2400. — Horse-Mackerel. 2403.— Ocellated Pteraclis. S406.— PUhing-boatf off the Island of Capri. 2405.— Tusk of Sn^rd-&h driven into timbers of a ihip. (4?^t'' No. 69. — ^VoL. n. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 145 14G MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Sword-fish. the (lark through the water hane in the meshes of the net, which are large enough to admit them be- yond the Rill-eover» and pectoral fins, but not large enough to allow the thickest part of the body to pass through. In the morning early, preparations are made lor haiding the nets. A capstan on the deck is manned, about which two turns of the driO-rope are taken. One man stands forward to untie the upper edge of each net from the drift-rope, which is called casling-ofi' the lashings ; others hand in the net with tlie fish caught, to which one side of the Tes:>el is devoted; the other side is occupied by the drifl-rope, which is wound in by the men at the capstan." The most active period of the fishery has already been staled. The seasons fluctuate con- siderably, an abundant year being succeeded by a scarce one ; or several of the latter may occur together, and afterwards may be compensated by successive years of plenty. On some nights two or three thousand fish will be caught by one boat, and another not more than a mile distant may not take one hundred. This uncertainty con- tributes to render the fishery a precarious source of subsistence to those who can only embark capital in it on a small scale, and cannot stand against the unforeseen reverses which may occur in a short period, but are counterbalanced on an average of years. The boats employed are generally about thirty feet in the keel, built of oak or ash, and copper- fastened. They possess great depth of waist and breadth of beam, are noted for their durability, and considered as fast and safe a class of boats as are to be found in the fisheries on any coast of the United Kingdom. From Hastings to Uungeness the beach and coast are bold and rocky, and the strength of the boats is severely attested in attempting to " beach," besides the frecjuent loss of life ; but latterly a different method has been adopted of gaining the beach, by which this object is effected in a more skilful and less dangerous manner. As instances of the great variations of price which are experienced in this fishery, some examples, cited by Mr. Yarrel, may be quoted: — In May, 1807, the first Brighton boat-load of mackerel sold at Billings- gate lor forty guineas per hundred — seven shillings each, reckoning six score to a hundred. The next boat-load produced but thirteen guineas per hundred. At Dover, in 1808, mackerel were sold at sixty for a shilling. In 1834they were cried through the streets of London at three for a shilling. Mr. Yarrel men- tions several instances of great success in this fishery. The value of the catch of sixteen boats from Lowesloffe, on the 30th of June, 1831, amounted to 52.52/. In March, 1833, on a Sunday, four Hastings boats brought on shore ten thousand eight hundred fish, and the next day two boats brought seven thousand fish. Early in the month of February, 1834. one boat's crew, from Hastings, cleared 100/. by the fish caught in a single night. The fish are sold by auction on the beach ; and at Billingsgate the dealers sell them in quantities above fifteen, which is the lowest number disposed of by wholesale ; some dealei« will not sell less than a hundred of six score. During the season about one hundred thou- sand mackerel are brought to Billingsgate in the course of one week. The uncertainty with regard to the commencement of the season extends to prices, and to the success of each boat, and resem- bles a lottery, in which there are some high prizes, and many scarcely worth striving for ; but the hope of obtaining the former is the great stimulus to ex- ertion. It is gratifying to learn that clubs are established in which the fishermen can insure their boats. Fig. 2397 represents the crew of a French fishing- boat angling for mackerel. Fig. 2398 represents mackerel boats in the Bay of Hastings, with Beachy Head in the distance. Fig. 2399 represents a scene which may be often witnessed in a fishing town, viz a Dutch market. The plan is to separate the fish into heaps as soon as they are landed ; and the persons desirous of purchasing being assembled, one of the fishermen or owners of the boat acts as salesman, and names a price above the real value,, at the same lime elevating a large stone with which to "knock down" a lot. A lot which may ultimately sell at forty shillings is offered at sixty shillings, the salesman rapidly naming a lower price until he gets a bid, when the stone descends to the ground, and the first bidder is thus the purchaser. The descending in- stead of an ascending scale enables the sellers to get through their work more quickly ; and it is, perhaps, the fairest, for the price approaches nearer the actual worth than when feelings of rivalry are allowed to display themselves. 2400 — ThkHorsi-Mackkrel, or Scad (Cartmx traehurus). Scomber trachurus, Linn. In the genus Caranx the body is covered with small scales, with the exception of the lateral line, along which extends a series of broad scales, those on the posterior half of the body having an elevated keel m the centre, whence a continuous ridge is formed to the caudal fin ; dorsal fins, two ; free abdominal spines; teeth minute. Branchiostegous rays seven. This species is common in the British seas, and occasionally visits the coast in countless myriads, cart-loads being captured without the slight- est difficulty. The flesh of the horse mackerel is of very inferior quality, hence the fish is seldom brought to market ; but both this and the true mackerel are salted in the west of Cornwall for winter consumption. The shores of that county, and also of Devon, are annually visited by the present species, which arrives from the deep sea, in the beginning of May, or earlier; but it is not until the summer has advanced that the numbers are considerable. Sometimes the shoals are enormous ; and upwards of ten thousand fish have been taken in a single evening, Mr, Yairel adduces an instance of this kind which occuied-at Mara/ion, and quotes the following account detailed by Mr. Bicheno, residing on the coast of Glamorganshire : '' on Tuesday the 29th of July, 1834, we were visited by immense shoals of scad, or, as they are also called, horse mackerel. They were first observed in the evening; and the whole sea, as far as we could command it with the eye, seemed in a state of fermentation with their number. Those who stood on some projecting rock had only to dip their hands into the water, and with a sudden jerk they might throw up three or four. The bathers felt them come against their bodies ; and the sea, looked on from above, appeared one dark mass offish. Every net was immediately put in requisition, and those which did not give way from the weight were drawn on shore laden with spoil. One of the party who had a herring-seine with a two-inched mesh was the most successful ; every mesh held its fish, and formed a wall that swept on the beach all before it. The quantity is very inadequately expressed by numbers, they were caught by cart-loads. Asthese shoals were passing us for aweek, with their heads directed up channel, we had the opportunity of noticing that their feed- ing time was morning and evening ; they were pursuing the fry of the herring, and I found their stomachs constantly full of them." This species is found in the Mediterranean, and occurs also on the coast of Norway and Denmark. The general colour above is olive changing to a I brilliant green, waved with a gloss of blue ; the sides i of the head and the under parts are silvery white ; with waved reflexions: a spot on the gill-covers, i and the throat, black. 2401. — ^The Dorado, or Dolphin I (Coj-pphana Hippw-us). In the genus Coryphaena the body is elongated, compressed, and covered with ! small scales, the head is trenchant above, the profile I abrupt and curved ; a single dorsal fin with flexible ■ rays extends along the back ; there are palatal as well as maxillary teeth. Branchiostegous rays seven. j This brilliant fish, celebrated from the earliest times for its beauty and its rapidity, must not be confounded with the dolphin, or delphinus, one of the cetacea, though it bears the same name. It is common in the Mediterranean and the warmer [ latitudes of the ocean, making incessant war upon the shoals of flying-fish, which, in common with ' the Bonito, it chases for prey. In the water the lustre of this species, and the mingling of the tints which adorn it, render it very engaging; if is of a silvery blue above, with markings of a deeper tint ; the under parts are citron yellow, spotted with light blue. After death its rich and burnished hues fade and disappear. It is the poet's - Dolphin, whom each pang embues With a new colour as it gasps away, The lait still loveliest, till 'tis gone and all is ^v." Dtron. 2402. — The Starred Cokyph.bna j (Astrodermus CoiyphcBtioides) . This fish is also a native of the Mediterranean, and measures from twelve to eighteen inches in length ; it is of a pale rose colour, vtith five or six longitudinal rows of round black spots : the pectoral and caudal fins are red, the others dusky. The mouth of this species is small, but the most remarkable character consists in the arrrangement of the scales, which, instead of lapping over each other in the usual way, are scattered over the head and body: they are very minute, and under a lens resemble stars ; a clus- ter of four is repiesented under the tail of the figure. 2403. — TheOcellated Ptbraclis (Pleraclis ocellatus). This singular fish is remark- able for the great expansion of the dorsal and op- posite fins, while the pectoral and ventral fins are small, more particularly the latter. These ex- panded fins spring from between two tiers of scales which give strength to the base of the rays. The scales are large. This species is about four inches long, and of a silvery hue ; tfie pectoral and caudal fins are yellow. ish, the others bluish grey ; the doreal fin has a round dark blue spot near its anterior angle. It is said to be a native of Carolina. Cuvier says, " Rose nous assure I'avoir pris a la Caroline ; Pallas dit le sien des Moluques; peut-8tre sont-ce deux especes." 2404. — The Sword-fish (Xip/iitu Gladius). Xiphias Imperator, Schn. In the genus Xiphias the upper jaw is elongated into a formidable spear, the only weapon, for the mouth is without teeth. The body is fusiform, and covered by minute scales, the dorsal fin is single and elevated, ventral fins are wanting, the tail is strongly carinated. Branchiostegous rays seven. This formidable fish, which was well known to the ancients, is a native of the Mediterranean, where it is common ; it does not, however, confine itself to that sea, but passing through the Straits ol Gibraltar into the wide ocean, takes either a northward or a southward course, seldom continuing its direction westward. It has been found along the coast of Europe as far as the Baltic, and along that of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. Captain Beechey met with it near Easter Island in the Pacific. This species was first noticed in our seas by Sibbald, and subsequently many naturalists have had oppoi tunities of examining specimens taken along tlu' coast of Scotland. In 1834 a dead sword-fish ten feet long was found on the Essex coast ; and Daniel, in his ' Rural Sports,' relates that '• in the Severn near Worcester a man bathing was struck and absolutely received his death-wound from a sword- fish ; the fish was caught immediately aftertvaids, so that the fact was asceilained beyond a doubt." The sword-fish attains to the length of twelve and even fifteen feet, and is prodigiously active and powerful ; it is said to go in pairs. Its food consists of fish, cuttle-fish, &c. It is said to be a great enemy to the tunny, a fish of the Medilerranean (Thynnus vulgaris) celebrated for ihe excellence of its flesh. Belon affirms that the shoals of tunnies are as much alarmed at the appearance of a sword -fish, as a flock of sheep at the sight of a wolf. It pursues them with great pertinacity, and transfixes them with its spear. In the Mediterranean the fisheiy of this formi- dable species is regularly practised by the fishermen of Sicily, Capri, and other places, for in many places it is esteemed as an article of food, especially by the Sicilians, who buy it up eagerly at any price at the commencement of the season, which lasts from May to August. They cut if into pieces, and salt it for future use. This process was in ancient times particularly performed at the town of Thuri in the bay of Tarentum, whence the fish was called Tomus 'Thurianu.s. A description of the ancient manner of taking this fish has been left us by Sliabo, from which it appears that the process was the same as that now in use. A man mounts upon a cliff that overhangs the sea ; and as soon as he discovers the fish, gives notice to a boat in attendance of the course it has taken. A man in the boat then mounts the mast, and on seeing the sword-fish directs the rowers towards it. As soon as they think themselves within reach, the man on the mast descends, and taking in his hand a harpoon, to which a cord is attached, strikes it into the fish, sometimes at a considerable distance. After being wearied with its agitations and attempts to escape, as well as exhausted by its wound, the fish is seized and drawn into the boat. The operation has con- siderable resemblance to the whale fishery on a small scale. The superstitious Sicilian fishermen have an unintelligible chant, which they regard as a most essential part of their apparatus. Brydone thinks it is Greek : but be that as it may, the fisher- men are convinced of its efficacy as a charm, its operation being to attract and detain the fish near the boat. There are certainly some Italian words in it, although it is said that the men believe that the fish would dive into the water and be seen no more if it happened to hear a word of Italian. The reported hostility of the sword-fish to the whale, which it attacks with fury, seems to have some foundation. Captain Crow, in a work pub- lished lately, gives the following fact as having been witnessed by himself during a voyage to Meniel. "One morning, during a calm, when near the Hebrides, all hands were called up at three a.m. to witness a battle between several of the fish called thrashers or fox-sharks (Carcharias Vulpes) and som^word-fish on one side, and an enormous whale on the other. It was in the middle of summer, and the weather being clear, and the fish close to the vessel, we had a fine opportunity of witnessing the contest. As soon as the whale's back appeared above the water, the thrashers springing several yards into the air, descended with great violence on Wrasses.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE 147 The troad flnned nword-fljh (Istiophorus platypterus) i« of a tliinnpr and more elvgant form than tlie ordinary upt-ci™, and is also •lT»tini;ui,licd hy an extremely broad hack fln.nnii hy very long «harp- Winled thoracic appendages, whicli are entirclv wanting in the other, nie general colour of th- fl,h is of silvery blui.h-white except on toe l,a',i' •<'■ ttfC.— Netting Pi.h coast are visited by this fish ; and, according to Mr. Couch, it is permanent on the Cornish coast, though most abundant in summer. Great numbers are taken off the coast of Holland, but the garfish is there only used as a bait for more valued kinds. As its form would lead us to predict, the garfish is quick and active in the water, swimming with considerable rapidity near the surface, and leaping and gambolling as if in the exuberance of vivacity. The length of the upper jaw of this fish results from the elongation of the intermaxillary bones. The mouth is wide, and when opened both jaws simultaneously separate ; the eye is large ; the general colour above dark greenish blue, becoming lighter on the sides, and passing on the gill-covers and under parts to silvery white. Length about two feet. 2430.— Thk Flyi.ng-fish (Exocetus volitans). This genus is at once distin- guished among the Ksocidae by the exiraordinar}' length of its pectoral fins. Ihe Flying-fish must be distinguished from the Flying Gurnard, which we have previously noticed, and which belong:s to an entirely ditt'erenl section. The flying-fish is met with in shoals in the warmer latitudes of the ocean, and has been seen also oif diflerent parts of our coast, although the exact spe- cies has not been determined. Pursued by dorados and other fishes of prey, the flying-fishes endeavour to escape by rising out cf the water, and skimming through the air, an action ' which they repeat, successively rising an^l descend- ing, till out of sight in the distance. In the mean time their pursuers below keep up the chase, while gulls and albatrosses pounce upon them from above. "The greatest length of time," says Mr. G. Bennett ('Wanderings,' &c.), " that 1 have seen these volatile fish on they?«, has been thirty seconds by the watch, and their longest flight, mentioned by Captain Hall, has been two hundred yards, but he thinks that sub- sequent observation has extended the space, 'ihe most usual height of flight, as seen above the sur- face of the water, is from two to three feet, but I have known them come on board at a height of fourteen feet and upwards, and they have been well ascertained to come into the channels of a line-of- battle ship, which is considered as high as twenty feet and upwards. But it must not be supposed they have the power of elevating themselves into the air after having left their native element, for on watch- ing them I have often seen them fall much below the elevation fit which they first rose from the water, but never in any instance could I observe them raise themselves from the height to which they first sprang ; for I regard the elevation they take to de- pend on the power of the first spring or leap they make on leaving their native element." The food of these fishes appears to consist of mollusks and small fish; their fiesh is accounted uf excellent flavour, and is often eaten by mariners ai sea. Fig. 2431 shows a Group of the Finny Race, amongst which the Flying-fish is conspicuous. Family SALMON ID^ (SALMON, CHAR, TROUT, &c.). The Salmonidae are characterized by their mus- cular contour, by the body being covered with scale.s, by the first dorsal fin consisting of soft rays, followed by a little fleshy fin formed simply by a fold of the skin filled with fat, and unsupported by rays. 2432, 2433.— Ths Salmon {Salmo Salar). In the genus Salmo the head is smooth ; there are two dorsal fins, the second ot which is fleshy without rays. There are teeth on the maxillary bones, the vomer and palatal bones, and a row of hooked teeth runs along each side of the tongue ; branchiostegous rays ten or twelve. The unrivalled excellence, among fishes, of the salmon, as an article of diet, its abundance, and its commercial importance, require no comments. A salmon fishery is valuable property ; the rights and privileges connected with it, and the regulations to be observed in conducting it, have been settled by legislative enactments. The salmon is a migratory fish, existing during one part of the year in fresh water, the other in the sea. It is a native of the former, and shoals of salmon annually work their way up the rivers of our island, of Ireland, and of the northern portions of the continent, for the sake of depositing their spawn ; in their progress they surmount rapids and cataracts, still with unwearied perseverance pursu- ing their course, till they arrive at the suitable lo- cality. In America the sahnon ascends the river St. Lawrence, and enters the tributary streams of Lake Ontario: but its progress within the United States is arrested by the falls of the Niagara. Gesner, a naturalist of the early part of the sixteenth century, observed that "there was no better salmon than m England ;" and Izaak Walton states, that, " though some of our northern counties have as large and as fat as the river Thames, yet none of so exceli^iit » Salmon.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 155 ♦aste.' Owinj; to the progress of population and the extension ot'manul'actiiies, the sahnon rivers in Ensjliind are far less productive than formerly. A Thames salmon is now rarely seen,* and the rivers of the north of England, as well as those of the west, thouch they have not declined to the same extent as the Thames, or the Avon in Hampshire, are not now of much commercial importance. The case is tlifferent in Scotland, the principal supply of salmon beinff derived from the Tay, the Tweed, the Dee, the Don, and most of the streams along- the coast. The salmon rivers in Ireland are the Erne, the Moy, the Bann, the BlacUwater, the Shannon, and nearly all the principal streams along the northern and western coasts. As a general rule, it is in autumn that the sal- mon leaves the sea or mouth of the estuary, and pushes up the rivers and their frihutary streams, whence they do not return till the spring, having in the interval deposited their egffs, -which have become hatched (if the term be allowed), the young fry or smolts being carried down to the sea in the months of April and May : hence the proverb — " Tile floods of May Take the smolts away." In some rivers the salmon do not make their appearance until the middle of Aprrl or the be- ginning of May, astheEsk, for instance, in Cumber- land ; and this delay is attributed to the lower temperature of the water, compared with that of even adjacent streams. " Rivers," says Mr. Yarrell, "issuing from large lakes, afford early salmon, the waters having been purified by deposition in the lakes; oi\ the other hand, rivers swollen by melting snows in the spring months are later in their season of producing fish, and yield their supply when the lake rivers are beginning to fail." " It has been suggested that this variation in the season depended on the warmth of the waters, and that those highland rivers which rose from large lochs were all early, owing to the great mass and warmer temperature of their sources, and that the spawn there was sooner hatched. There are two rivers in Sutherlandshire which show this late and early running under peculiar circumstances. One, the Oikel, borders the county, and springs from a small alpine lake, perhaps about half a mile in breadth; the other, the Shin, is a tributary to the Oikel, joins it about five miles from the mouth, but takes its rise from Loch Shin, a large and deep ex- tent of water, and connected by a chain of other deep lochs. Early in the spring, all the salmon entering the common mouth diverge at the junc- tion, tiu-n up the Shin, and return as it were to their own and warmer stream, while very few keep the main course of the Oikel until a much later period." Artedi states, that in Sweden the salmon .spawn in the middle of summer. Whether it be in the autumn or spring that the salmon ascends the river, it does not return to the sea till after the spawn is deposited ; and the fe- males are the first to ascend, the males coming after. The migration does not take place imme- diately on the fish leaving the sea, but they advance up the river or estuary, as far as the tideway is felt, ascending *ith each flood-tide, and descending with the ebb; and thus, remaining partly in salt and partly in fresh water, are better prepared for a long continuance in the latter. Here stake-nets are placed for miles on both sides, and multitudes of fish captured. The precise period at which the salmon enters the river does not appear to depend entirely upon the state of the ova, for, while some fish proceed far up the river, the roe of others is in so mature a state that they can advance but half way, and others are compelled to seek out a suitable place in the shal- lows nearer its mouth. The great majority, however, as they get full of roe, ascend beyond the tidew.ay, after a short continuance in the brackish water, and push on towards the sources of the stream, over- coming impediments which might be thought in- surmountable. They will clear rapids or weirs which are eight or ten feet in height, and, though at first baffled in their efforts, resume the attempt with sur- prising vigour. Sometimes they overshoot or mistake their mark and throw themselves upon dry land. Though they seldom spring out of the water more than ten feet, they have been known to descend a fall of the height of thirty feet, and to leap over a dry rock of considerable height and drop into the water on the other side. There is a fall (the fall of Xilmorac) on the Beauly, in Inverness-shire, where, according to Mr. Mudie, in the • British Naturalist,' the sight of a voluntarily cooked salmon has been witnessed. A ^kettle, it is said, was placed upon the flat rock on the south side of the fall, close by the edge of the water, and kept full and boiling until a salmon fell into the kettle and was cooked on the spot. This was one of the wonders which the Franers of Lovaf, who are lords of the manor, • \Tr. > "vrrell sayi, that the last Tttames salmon of which he has a ecoril wa/. taken in June, lb33. Vol. If used to show their guests. This fall is said to be literally thronged with salmon endeavouringto pass higher up the river. It is an old opinion, and still very generally entertained, that previous to making a spring the iish curves its body and puts its tail in its mouth. Michael Drayton, in his ' Polyolbion,' alluding to a salmon-leap in the Tivy, has adopted this opinion : — " Flere, when the lalwurinp fish does at the foot arrive, An^ finds that by his strength he d(\es tint vainly strive. His tail takes in his mouth, and, benilin); like a Ijow That's to full compass drawn, aloft himself doth throw : Then sprinyin^' at his height, as dotii a little wand. That's bendctl end to end, and started from man's hand, Far off itself doth cast — so does the salmon vault." The fact, however, has been ascertained by ob- servation, that salmon spring up nearly in a per- pendicular line, and with a strong tremulous mo- tion. Having gained the upper and shallower part of the river, the fish seek out clear gravelly beds, where there is a strong current, and prepare to de- posit their ova. They proceed, generally in the morning or during the twilight of evening, to make a furrow with their noses in the gravel, working against the stream, for the reception of the spawn. At this season, both males and females are unfit for food, and undergo a considerable alteration in appearance. The male becomes marked on the cheeks with orange-coloured stripes, and a golden orange tinge pervades the surface of the body, while the lower jaw elongates, and a cartilaginous projection turns up from the point, occupying, when the jaws are closed, a deep recess between the intermaxillary bones of the upper jaw. In this state the salmon is called a " red-fish.'' The females have acquired a dark colour, and are called " black-fish." It is unlawful to take either red-fish or black-fish, the prohibition being intended for the preservation of the race. In making their furrow, we have said that the fish works against the stream ; it cannot, in fact, work with the head down the stream, for the water forcing into the gills the wrong way drowns it. The deposition of the spawn requires from eight to twelve days ; and when this process is completed and the ova covered up, the fishes betake them- selves to the pools and deeper parts of the river to recruit. They are much out of condition, and are called " kippers'' or " kelt-Hsh." Experiments have been made at different times, relative to the vivification of the ova of the salmon, the most interesting of which are the two following: the first is detailed by Dr. Knox, in the 'Trans- actions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.' On the 2nd of November he observed the ova of a salmon deposited in the usual manner near the sources of the Tweed. On the 25th of February, or a hundred and sixteen days afterwards, the ova were dug up and found to be unchanged. On the 23rd of March, twenty weeks from the period of their deposition, the ova were changing, the fry lying in the gravel, after having cast the outer shell. On the first of April the fry had quitted the spavvning-bed by ascending through the gravel. The ova may be hatched artificially by being put into bottles of water in warm rooms, but they cannot be preserved alive longer than ten days, during which* they eat nothing. The other experiment was made by Mr. Hogarth, of Aberdeen, and is still more minute in its details than the former one ; it is exemplified at Figs. 2434, 2435, 2436, and 2437, showing the progress of the spawn of salmon. In the rivers and streams the ova become vivi- fied during the months of March and April, accord- ing to the state of the season. By the end of May the water is full of the fry, from an inch in size, perfectly formed, to the size of a minnow. At first they keep in shallow water, but as their strength increases they may be seen in the middle of the river or stream, moving towards the sea. The first flood or fresh which occurs at this period hurries them to the mouth of the river, where for a short time they remain in the tideway, and then proceed at once to the sea. In June, not a single •' smolt," or "smoult," which is the name given to the fry, is to be found in the fresh water. Referring to our pictoral illustrations, we may observe thai, at Fig. 2434, A shows the egg of the natural size after the vital principle has'lieen de- veloped. The body of the fish in this stage has a pinkish tinge, and the eyes are very large ; B. the shell of the ovum just burst, and the 'lead of the fish protruding from it. Fig. 2435 ;— 0, the state of the ovum eight hours after the bursting of the shell, when the pulsations of the heart become visible ; D, the shell just tlirown olf, the tail drooping; about a third part of tlie shell, which is transparent, is fractured by the fish, in its exertions to extricate itself. Before the shell is broken, the tail envelops the yolk, which is seen attached to the body of the fish ; E, the tail, in a short time becomes straight, and the fish more lively ; the mouth assumes a distinct form, and the lower and pectoral fins, which are quite transparent, are in motion simultaneously with the action of the heart, which beats from sixty to sixty-five limes in a minute. Fig. 2436 : — F is a magnified representation of C, Fig. 2435, the fish adhering to the shell, which is partly broken. G represents E magnified : the heart is before the pectoral fins, under the throat. Fig. 2437 is a still more enlarged view of E, showing the direction in which the blood circulates as seen by a microscope. The blood flows from under the body of the fish through the blood-vessels, ramified along the sides of the back, and is then collected into the large vessel which runs along the liont and bottom of the bag, communicating directly with the heart. An equal quantity of air, or some trans- parent matter, circulates with the blood. The blood is drawn by the heart from the large vessel alluded to, and thrown in regular pulsations into the vessels of the head and throat, where it assumes a darker colour. The rays of the gills are visible, and the fish soon begins to assume a brownish colour. Salmon fry, or smolts, for tome time wander about the sides of the stream, where the current is ob- structed, but as they acquire strength they trust themselves to the mid-stream, play in the pools and deep spots, and on the setting in of the spring rains are carried down to the junction of the river with the salt water, where they remain till habituattd to the novel element, into which they then proceed. The growth of the smolts or young salmon is very rapid, especially after they have reached the sea, where food is in abundance. Fry marked in April or May, as Mr. Yarrell informs us, have returned by the end of June weighing from two to three pounds and upwards, and a mouth or two later they have been found to weigh as much as six pounds. The small-sized fish under the weight of two pounds are called "salraon-peal," all above that weight " grilse." These fish hatched in the spring breed the first winter, and for that purpose return from the sea to the rivers rather earlier, as it would appear, than the adult fish, and, though fewer ova are perfected, each egg individually is nearly as large as in the latter. The growth of the grilse during the second visit to the sea and for several subsequent years equals, if it does not exceed, that of the first year. 'I'he Sand-launce (Ammodytes Lancea) and other fishes constitute the Ibod of the salmon when out at sea ; and that it is a voracious feeder may be inferred both from its rapid increase of size and its dental arrangement. Dr. Knox states that the food of the salmon consists principally of the eggs of various kinds of echinodermata and some of the Crustacea, and that to a certain extent the excellent flavour of its flesh depends on the richness of its food. Salmon when in rivers rise at flies, like the trout, and have been taken with a minnow for a bait, and also with a worm. Mr. Yarrell quotes the following communication to himself from Sir W. Jardine, dated St. Boswell's, April 15, 1835: — "The fisherman who rents this part of the Tweed, fishing with worm one day last week, had his hooks and tackle taken away by a fish ; ht; put on a new set; and again with worm, in ten minutes, hooked and killed a salmon with his former hooks and bait in his mouth. This will either prove extreme voracity, or little sensibility of the parts of fhe mouth. I have often heard fishermen mention a similar fact, but never before knew an instance on which I could depend." Though few salmon, perhaps none, that haunt our coasts and visit our estuaries and rivers, ever attain to tlieir full growth, or the completion of their natural term of existence (so extensive and incessant is the destruction made amongst them), yet enormous specimens have often been captured. In 1835 Mr. Yarrell saw ten different fish varying from thirty-eight to forty pounds each ; and a notice of one that weighed fifty-five pounds appeared in the papers. Mr. Mudie has recorded one of sixty pounds. Pennant mentions one of seventy-four pounds. Mr. Yarrell states that the largest salmon known, as far as he is aware came into the posses- sion of Mr. Groves, the well known fishmoi:ger of Bond Street, in the season of 1821. It was a female, of eighty-three pounds, short for the weight, but of great depth and thickness; the flesh was fine in colour and of excellent quality. Large salmon have occasionally been taken by expert angles, with a single line and artificial fly. Sir II. Davy captured one in the Tweed, above Yair-bridge, after a severe struggle : its weight was about forty-two pounds. In the Thames, at Shepperton Deeps, Mr. G. Marshall, of Brewer Street, Ixmdon (October 3, 1812), caught and killed a salmon with a single gut, without a landing net, that weighed twenty-one pounds four ounces. (See Yarrell.) Mr. Lascelles (' Letters on Sporting') states that the largest saimcn he ever knew taken with a fly was in Scotland : ;t weighed fifty-four pouruls and a half. Fig. 2438 represents the celebrated Coleraine Sal- X 2 156 (M38.— Celeralne'Salmon-liap on the Bann. ,/ , /■,! ., i ^T^x Tl m 2447.— Bidfotd Gnnge. 2<4«.— Trout. 157 158 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Trout. (non-leap on the Bann, the rpsort ofanfjlerit. Anglinc; I'ur Milmon is only resorted to a^tarecrention, and for lakins; fish fur private consumption; other modes of wholesale capture are adopted for the supply of the markets. Of these one is by the stake-net (Fig. 243D). The stake-net was first brcught into use on the Solway about a hundred vears since, and was termed the raise or rise net. Improvements were ai'terwards made in its construction, and gradually it became general ; those nets were introduced on the Frith of Tay about the year 1797, and proved so Advantageous, being efficient both during the flood and ebb tide, that double the number of salmon were taken than before they were in use. As many us five hundred salmon and grilses have been taken at one time in a stake-net. Stake-nets are only used where the tide is constantly ebbing and flow- ing, and are confined within the limits of low-water mark, as thev are not adapted to the middle of the channel. They are fixed by stakes driven into the rocky ground ; and are visible at several miles dis- tance, serving to warn vessels off rocks and shallows, both by day and night, the noise made by the water rushing through them indicating their vicinity when they themselves cannot be distinctly seen. Referring to Fig. 2439, we may observe that there are two lines of stakes at each end, hung with netting in ortlcr to obstruct the progress of the fish in their passage up the river; these are termed leaders, and are intended to conduct the fish into the inner ».-ourt or chamber, within which at one end there «re smaller chambers in which they are taken. The court opposed to the flow of the tide only takes ' ■fish passing up the river with the flood; but as salmon move backwards and forwards in the tide- ; way, some stake-nets are placed in a reverse direc- 1ion to catch the fish moving down with the ebb. The spawned or unclean fish are not caught in the stake-nets, nor arc the fry, owing to their keeping in i the middle of the stream ; while the clean fish, in a ; state of vigour, roam at large both through the deep and shallow water. We may add that the narrow line ofstakes begins on the shore at high-watermark ; i it gradually increases according to the increase of ■depth, the deep line of stakes being at low-water ' mark. Fig. 2440 represents the stage-net, which has been greatly superseded by the stake-net; it is adapted for the coast or tide -way of a river, and is, like the latter, stretched between high and low water mark. The leader, which terminates at high- water mark, is formed of stakes and rough wicker- work ; the fishermen are stationed on a platform or -••tage above the bag-nets, and see or feel when a fish enters one of them, when it is immediately drawn up to the top of the stage and the fish taken ■out and killed. We may enumerate cobble-nets, \ised in the higher parts of the river, and in pools, jibove the tidal rise ; but as the nets are trailed over the top of the spawning beds, raking them up, this mode is justly regarded as injurious. Cruives are formed by artificial dikes, which act as leaders, con- Iannering,' and which may, as he says, be called a ■kind of salmon-hunting. The account is as follows : — "The chace, in which the fish is jjursued and struck with barbed spears, or a sort of long-shalted Irident, called a waster, is much practised at the mouth of the Esk, and in the other salmon rivers of Scotland. The sport is followed by day and night, but most commonly in the latter, when the fish are e rising of an air-well, was lakes" it will sometimes be found of the weight of thirty or forty pounds. All the rivers and small streams are stocked with trout of delicious flavour. sufficient to point out to these adroit sportsmen in what direction to use their weapons." A hundred salmon were often taken during one of these ani- mated excursions, and it is added that " the best were selected for the use of the principal fanners ; the others divided among their shepherds, cottars, dependants, and others of interior rank who at- tended. These fish, dried in the turf smoke of their cabins or shealings, formed a savoury addition to the mess of potatoes, mixed with onions, which were the principal part of their winter food." Spear- ing salmon by torch-light is sometimes practised near the mouth of a river, or in one of the lochs, when the scene is peculiarly striking, resembling those which take place in the north of Europe. Fig. 2443 represents the mode of spearing fish by the (Jhippeway Itidians on the River Thames, which rises in the country between Lakes Ontario and i Huron, and falls into Lake St. Clair. This manner of fishing " requires a dexterity in its management which scarcely any but an Indian can achieve. Two Indians occupy a canoe in the centre of the | stream : one poises hmiself on each edge of the | vessel in front, the other in a similar way behind : each has a fish-spear. The canoe, though probably in the centre of a rapid stream, amid rocks, anil shoals, and eddies, is kept perfectly steady, and in a straight course, by occasional thrusts and shoves at any object which presents itself, — an overhanging or sunken rock, or the broken trunk of a fallen tree. The labour of keeping the boat steady does not interfere with the spearing of the fish, which is carried on in silence, and with unceasing attention. The fish, as caught, are jerked off the spear into the boat; they are afterwards handed over to the women, who clean them, and dry them by sus- pending them from a stick over a smoky fire. This mode of catching fish never fails to attract the attention of Europeans, from the dexterity with which it is done, and the seeming danger of the operation. The Indians resort to the streams and rapids in spring and autumn, as the fish are then running — attempting the passes in shoals." Fig. 2444 represents the mode of fishing on the ice, as practised by the Chippeway Indians. The scene is Lake Huron, with the lighthouse on the shore in the distance. The fisher or spearman is what is termed a British Indian — one of those located near British settlements, and who are under the protection of our government, receiving yearly allowances in manufactured articles and food, in return for having sold their lands. He is repre- sented in the usual costume worn by these Indians, and engaged in fishing in the ice. During winter, when their supplies of dried flesh and fish are ex- hausted, they resort to this uncomfortable and cold mode of obtaining food. A hole is broken in the ice with a hatchet; a piece of wood carved into the shape of a fish, and coloured to resemble one, having tin fins and tail, and balanced by a piece of lead in the belly, is suspended in the water by a string of gut from a short stick which is held in the left hand. This deception attracts the fish to the I length was twenty-eight inches spot, when they are struck by the spear held in the right hand, and brought up. When cold frosty winds prevail, the Indians frequently erect a tem- porary hut of poles and blankets over the hole which they have made in the ice, with an opening in the top to admit the light; this not only protects them in some measure from the effects of the cold, but also enables them to .see the fish more easily, as the rays of the sun on the snow dazzle and injure the eyes. Tliis kind of hut is represented in the engraving. In the distance is a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Huron, and to the left are the rapids of the St. Clair, unfrozen, with Fort Gratia, belong- ing to the United States. Fort Gratia is situated at the mouth of the St. Clair, where it issues from Lake Huron. The lakes and rivers of North America yield an abundance of excellent fish, as well as aquatic wild- fowl. The only lake in the great chain of lakes which yields such fish as make migratory excursions to the sea, salmon, &c., is Lake Ontario — the falls of Niagara presenting an eifectual barrier to their visiting the other lakes. But the fresh-water slock of fish in these lakes is sufficiently diversified; amongst the favourite sorts are white-fish, particu- larly those of the Detroit river, the grey or salmon trout, black and rock bass (there are also white and striped bass), pickerel, pike, and fresh-water herrings. Some of the outlets of the lake abound with sturgeon, but in general the flesh of the American sturgeon is but little esteemed. A species of pike, called the Muskanungee, grows to a large size, and is considered by many an excellent fish. In the very small lakes of North America the grey or salmon trout is never found to exceed four or 2446.— The Trout (Salmo Jario). This excellent fish is spread over the continent, and is common in the British Islands. It delights in clear and sparkling rivers, which have a rapid current, bubbling over stones, and tumbling down weirs and liltle falls, where the picturesque walermill well accords with the attritc- live scenery (see Fig. 24-17) In such rivers trout lurk in the deep pools, in the shadow of large stones or under the precipitous banks during tlie day, bestirring themselves towards evening, when they eagerly pursue their prey. The trout is abundant also in our stream-fed lakes, and those of Scotland and Ireland. The great ditlerence in size and colour which this fish displays in diflerent localities is very remarkable, and has led to the suspicion that it WHS connected with distinction of species ; but when we take into account the variety in the character of the water, and the influence which the soil and the several strata over which it pas-ses in its course have in producing modifications in its quality, connected with the nature and respective abundance of food which dift'erent riveiu aftbrd, according to the soil and general aspect of ihe country through which they pass, we may perhaps account for the dift'erence of size and colour ex- hibited. Still it is by no means impossible that i distinctions of species as well as of mere variety may. be ascertained. In the Wye, the Dove, andDerwent (Derbyshire), the trout are numerous but small, measuring from six to ten inches in length on the average ; and in some inky streams that flow over shale in the hills near Buxton, and are impregnated with iron, we have seen numerous trout of small size, and so dark, that, by way of distinction, they might be called black, while those in the Wye at Bakewell, and in the Derwent and Uove, are brightly coloured. Black trout occur in Loch Knitching and also in Loch Katrine, the colour being attributed to the drainage from the boggy moors. There are fine trout-streams in Hampshire, Surrey, Wiltshire, and other counties, and splendid trout are caught in the Thames above Hampton ; we have seen trout from the latter locality from nine to eleven pounds weight, but larger have been taken, .some of the weight of fifteen pounds. These noble fish are generally caught by trolling or spinning with bleak, gudgeon, or minnows, but they will rise at the May-fly. To land one of these trout requires no ordinary skill and patience. There are some deep pools in the Thames above Oxford where fine trout are to be captured — Mr. Yarrell records six taken by minnow-spinning, which weighed together fifty-four pounds, averaging nine pounds each. In March, 183.5. a male Thames trout, as stated by Mr. Yarrell, of the weight of fifteen pounds, was taken in a net ; its length was thirty inches. In the April of the same year a male trout of eleven pounds weight was caught in the same manner; its A few years since a notice was sent to the Linnean Society of a trout that was caught on the 11th of Januaiy, 1822, in a little stream ten feet wide branching from Ihe Avon, at the back of Castle-street, Salisbury: on being taken out of the water its weight was ibund to be twenty-five pounds." Various kinds of flies, as May-flies, stone-flies, &c., the ova of other fishes, the aquatic larvae of insects, and small fishes, constitute the food of the trout. From experiments which have been made by feeding trout placed in separate tanks, respec- tively on worms, minnows, and dark-coloured watei- I flies, it was found that those fed with worms grew j slowly and had an emaciated aspect; those nourished I with minnows, on which they darted with voracity, I became much larger ; while those to which flies only I were given attained in a short time prodigious di- j mensions, though the quantity of food swallowed by I them was nowise so great. i The breeding season of the trout is generally in October, at which period the adult fish ascend the j river and deposit their spawn in the same manner as I the salmon; the under jaw of the male becomes I also elongated and curved upwards. In May the I trout comes into full season, and then acquires the brightest tints and deepest spots, the flesh also being I of a livelier pink and superior flavour. This con- ' dition of the fish continues during the summer, i depending, however, on the quantity and quality of 1 the food; hence in some rivers the fish becomes out ' of season sooner than in others. In its habits the trout is shy and wary, and the angler's success will depend much on the wind, the sky, the choice of the fiy, and his knowledge of the river in which he angles. On these points, how- Smklts. MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 159 ►:ver, we must refer to works which professedly treat on the subject of anghng. We may here observe that in LouE:h Neagh, and other loughs in Ireland, a variety of tlie trout, called the Gillaroo. which attains to a considerable size, is found. The internal surface of the stomach of one examined by Mr. Yarrell presented an indurated cuticle, but the parietes were not thicker than those of other trouts : the teeth are small, but in number and situation like those of the ordinary kind. Deformed trout with the upper jaw truncated, or stunted in growth, and the lower jaw protruding, occur in some of the lakes in Wales, and have been taken also in a small loch called Loclidow near Pitmain in Inverness-shiie. They are of small size : a specimen from Lochdow is in the Museum of the Zool. Soc. The trout is too well known to need a minute detail of form and colouring. 2448. — The Northern Char, ok Charr (Salmo umbla, Linn.). Salmo Alpinus, Pennant ; Ombre Chevalier of the Lake of Geneva. When Walton published his ' Angler ' he stated his belief that the char was only to be found as a British fish in Lake Windermere. This, however, is not correct : it inhabits many of the lakes of Cumber- land, Westmoreland, and Lancashire, as Keswick, Crummock Water, Buttefmere, Coniston, &c. ; it is also found in many of the lochs of Scotland, a.s well as of Ireland, as Loughs Esk, Egesh, Neagh, Dan, &c. The lakes of the Tyrol are famous lor char. Speaking of this fish, Sir H. Davy says: — "They Generally haunt deep cool lakes, and are seldom found at the surface till late in the autumn.'' At this period they will take either fly or minnow, and he mentions, as something remarkable, having caught a char in summer in one of the beautiful small deep lakes of the upper Tyrol, but it was where a cool stream entered from the mountain, and the fish did not rise, but swallowed the artificial fly under water. Char afford the angler but little sport ; yet the fly-fi>her whipping for trout, which often abound in the same lakes, occasionally hooks one of the former, but it is by no means a common occurrence. Except at the spavining season, November and December, the char never leaves the deep clear water of the lake ; at that period, however, they make their way up the rivers, preferring those with a rocky channel : as an instance in point, Mr. Yar- rell remarks that of the two principal feeders of Windermere (viz. the Rothay and Brathay), the Ro- thay has a sandy bottom, but the channel of the Brathay is rocky. Before merging into the lake, these streams unite, at the western corner of the head of the lake, and the shoals of char entering to spawn, push their way up both of these rivers, but those fish which have ascended the sandy-bedded Rothay (a river to which the trout gives the pre- ference), finding it unsuitable, invarialjly return, and pass up the rocky channel of the Brathay, where they deposit their eggs. Fig. 244S) represents a view of Lake Windermere, celebrated for the beauty of the surrounding scenery and the excellence of its finny tenants. From some cause or other, the char, even at the same season of the year, exhibit great differences in their tints and the intensity of their colour. Hence the terms Case Char, Gilt Char, Red Char, and Sil- ver Char, which have been applied to the different varieties. Food, age, or individual vigour may in some measure perhaps modify the tints ; but after all the explanation is not very ea,sy. According to M. Jurine, in the Lake of Geneva the I'eniales are the finest in colour, but Mr. Mascall (in ' Mag. Nat. Hist.' April, 1835) states that in the Lake Enner- dale, Cumberland, he found the males of the richest hue. The char is not a large fish ; it seldom exceeds twelve or fourteen inches in length, though some occasionally attain to eighteen inches, and even two feet. As a delicacy for the table, it is undoubtedly one of the first of fresh-water fish, combining the flavour of the trout with that of the mullet. From a correspondent to the ' Penny Magazine,' (April 25, 1840,) experienced in char-fishing, and a lover of the beauties of scenery, no less than of the angle, we quote the following : — "On account of these interesting and valuable fish, some sections of both Windermere and (Joniston I.ake» rent pretty high as fisheries ; and although they do not yield any great quantities, the price tliese fish command in the market commonly remu- nerates, in a moderate degree, the persons employed in the fisheries. The common size of the Winder- mere char certainly does not, on the average, equal half a pound each : some few are caught that weigh a pound, or something more; but, probably, six ounces would be nearer the average weight of those that are annually taken. On account of their small iize, it will at once appear obvious thai they are not well adapted for being dressed and brought to table, in the ordinary way, that is boiled, — neither are they commonly broiled or dressed as a pan fish, and, when they are so, they are scarcely, if at all, supe- rior to good trout. They possess a flavour, how- ever, that connoisseurs seem greatly to admire ; and the flesh when dressed has a rich and inviting ap- pearance, being beautifully flaky, and of a deep orange tinge. But the general way of dressing these fish is that of potting — that is, seasoning them with certain condiments alter they have been stewed and the bones taken out, and afterwards placing them in courses in shallow pots (hence potting), of seven, eight, or nine inches in diameter, and pouring the finest melted fresh butter over the fish until they are well covered, and thus secured from the action of the air. They are so highly seasoned, that with this simple covering of butter, the pots containing the char may be sent to any part of the kingdom, and the fish will remain untainted for some months. This enables the persons connected with the char fisheries to send them to the best markets, our lux- urious metropolis being undoubtedly at the head of the list. They are usually sold in half-guinea and guinea pots. " Disavowing all malice or ill-will towards the char- potters of Bowness, Ambleside, Coniston, and others in the vicinity of those lakes where this profitable business is carried on, I cannot abstain from stating that which I know to be an undeniable fact, namely, that in many cases a smaller quantity of char is mixed with a larger quantity of trout, or some other inferior fish, and the adulterated pots then sold as genuine char. This is only, it is urged, a common trick with most manufacturers, and not considered any serious imposition to substitute a few nice plump trout in the place of as many char. An acquaint- ance of mine, who resided on the banks of Winder- mere, and who possessed opportunities of ascer- taining the produce of the fisheries in real char, as well as the quantities exported from thence, in pots alone, amused himself with making calculations, and the result was, that he found nearly three times the quantity exported that were actually caught. '•Except in the spawning season, the common haunts of these fish are in the clear and deep water ; and the usual way of taking them is in sunken nets, or trammels, as they are called, which are furnished with bait to allure the tish ; and which sometimes remain set for several days before any of them are enticed into the snare. Their haunts are generally badly calculated for employing drag nets, on account of the rocky nature of those lakes. It has already been stated that these fish do not afford the angler much amusement ; nevertheless they are now angled for far more than they formerly were. An expert angler, however, may think himself fortunate if he succeed in killing more than a dozen during the day. They are occasionally allured to the surface by a templing artificial fly ; but trolling with a small minnow several feet below the surface is a more likely mode of not being forced to leave the fishing-ground with an entirely empty fishing- basket. "In its shape this fish approaches that perfect symmetry for which many of the Salmo species are so very remarkable ; not differing materially from the commcm trout, though, perhaps, a little more slender and tapering than a trout I hat is plump and well fed. The colour of the red char — for there is another variety called case char, and the fishermen would make out a third, which they call gilt char — may be described as follows : The head terminates in rather a blunt point, the under jaw scarcely at all projecting. The pupil of the eye is black, in a sil- ver iris, surrounded with a circle of gold. The body is covered with very minute scales. The dorsal fin, which is yellow, is marked with a few dark spots; the back is dark with a peculiarly beautil'ul green- ish cast, shading into the most delicate while on the lower parls, and tinted with a bluish-like hue that is difficult to describe. All the fins, except the dorsal, are reddish; and during the season of spawning, the belly for the most part becomes as red as the fins. The body all over is sprinkled with pale spots, of a considerable size for so small a fish." The Welsh Char, or Torgoch (red-belly), found in Lyn Cawellyn, and a piece of wafer near Barmouth in Merionethshire, called " Coss-y-gedawl," is a dis- tinct species ; it is a deeper and shorter fish with a larger eye and teeth and more ample fins than the Windermere species. It is described and figured by Donovan, and also by Mr. Yarrell under the title of Salmo savelinus. 24.50. — The Great Grey Trout (Salmo ferox). Lake Trout, Salmo lacustris, Ber- kenhout. This noble species, which according to M. Agassiz differs from any of the large Continental species, is a native of many of the larger and deeper lakes of Scotland and Ireland. It occurs in Loch Awe, Loch Laggan, Lochs Shin, Loyal, and Assynf, in Lough Neagh, in Ireland, where it is called Bud- dagh, and in Ullsvfater Lake in Cumberland. Dr. Heysham records it in his catalogue of Cumberlanci animals, and observes that some specimens have been found to weigh between fifty and sixty pounds. It is probably the trout mentioned by the Rev. Mr. Lowe, in his ' Fauna Orcadeujis,' as occurring in the Orkneys and Shetlands, and weighing thirty- six pounds and upwards. We have seen specimens, from Lough Neagh thirty-five inches long; they were exhibited at the Zool. Soc, .June 9, 1835, by Mr. Thompson, and are alluded to by Mr. Yarrell. ' This species roves about indiscriminately, and feed* almost entirely upon the smaller fish. By persons re- siding on the banks of the lakes which they inhabit, numbers are often taken by night-lines, " few rising^ at the artificial fly, but they may be always takei> by strong trolling tackle baited with a small trout ;. they are extremely voracious, and having seized the^ bait, will allow themselves to be dragged by the- teeth for forty or fifty yards, and wlien accidentally freed, will immediately again seize it." Young fisl» will rise freely at the ily. This species seldom ven- tures either up or down any of the streams con- nected with the lakes ; it spawns in September. 2451.— The Smelt (Osmenis esper/amts). Sparling and Spirling, Pro- vincial. In the genus Osmerus the body is elongated and covered with small scales; there are two dorsal fins ; the first with rays, the second fleshy without rays. The ventral fins are placed in a vertical line- under the common cement of the dorsal fin; teetli on the jaws, and tongue long and sharp ; two drs- tinct rows on each palatal bone, none on the vomer, Branchiostegous rays eight. The true smelt seems to be confined as a Britishi fish to the eastern and western coasts of our island ; its place along the southern coast being occupied by the Atherine, or Sand-smelt (Atherina Presbyteiv Cuv.), which is very plentiful, of excellent quality, and with a slight odour of cucumbers ; it is one of the Mugilidae (Acantliopterygii). Like the salmon, the smelt visits the rivers, which it inhabits from August to May ; it spawns in March or April, after which the shoals return to the sea. In the month of August, the young fry may be seen in the mouths of rivers, swimming near the surface, ascending and descending with the tide ;. at this pe- riod the adults are making their way up the river. Formerly these fish abounded at the proper season in the Thames from Wandsworth to Hammersmith, but at present, owing to the state of the water, none advance so high as London. The Medway p-oduces smelts of excellent quality. The peculiar odour pf this fish, resembling that of a cucumber, is well known ; it is very powerful when the fish is just taken from the water, but a few days' exposure to the air greatly diminishes or even destroys it, and the delicate flavour of the flesh is lost. During the present season, 1844, smelts have been very abund- ant in the London market. Experiments seem to prove that the smelt will not only live, but thrive and multiply in the fresh water of ponds or lakes. Colonel Meynel, of Yarm in. Yorkshire, introduced smelts into a Iresh-water pond of about tluee acres, having no communication with, the sea ; here they remained for four years.and great ly multiplied ; they were not atfecteu by the freezing, over of the pond, though the ice was sufficiently strong to admit of skating ; and when at last the pond was drawn, they proved to be equal in size and flavour to the finest which had enjoyed their natu- ral range. The smelt is a voracious lilt le fish ; it devours young. . fry, and small Crustacea, as shrimps and mollusks. In the Thames and Medway this fish is taken by means of small meshed nets, from the 28th of Au- gust till Good-Friday. Along the eastern coast, and-, especially Lincolnshire, numbers are taken in shal- low bays. They occur in the Swale in Essex. The smelt as seen in the shops is seldom above six or seven inches in length; occasionally speci- mens of ten or eleven inches occur ; and Pennaiit mentions one which measured thirteen inches long,. and weighed eight ounces. The back of the smelt is of a pale greyish green passing on the sides into silvery while, which is- the colour of the gill-covers and under parts. Figs. 24.")2 to 2460 : — Various species of caddis- worms, the larvie, Phryganese, enclosed in cases,, some composed ol leaves, some of little jiebbles ami shells, some of straws, some of grains of sand aggiu ■ tinated together. These caddis worms are the lii- vourite food of many of the freshwater ^i^hes, and are killing baits. Belore concluding our outline of the Salmonida, we may observe that, as respects the genus Salmo great difiiculty exists in discriminating beiweeii many of the species, especially when young. The Parr or Samlet has been and still is in some places regarded as the young of ihe salmon. Mr.. Yarrell says, " The fry of the diftereut species ot 24SI.— Smelt. :448 — Northern Cli»r. 2«S. 2453. 2454. M»i. Hit. 2450.— Gre«t Ony Th)Ot, us». \ 2449.— Lake Wlndermen. 160 2461. — Salmon-fishing;, on Lake Sjbtrand, >"orway. 2463.— Pilchard. 2465.— Herring. No. 71. Vol. U. 2464.— Pilchard -fishing in Mount's Bay, Cornwall. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 162 MUSEUM OP ANIMATED NATURE. 'Pilchard. migratory Salmonids are even now probably ac- curately known only to a few persons ; their great similarity, when very small, has so frequently de- ceived even those who have lived the greater part of their lives on the Salmon river banks, that the fry marked by them in their experiments have been retaken as Grilse, Bull-trout, Salmon-trout, and river-trout." The species of the genus Salmo, described as British by Mr. Yarrcll, are— the Salmon (S.salar), the Bull-Trout (S. eriox), the Salmon-Trout (S. irutta), the Parr or Samlet (S. salmulas), the Com- mon Trout (S. fario), the Great Grey Trout (S. ferox), athe Northern CJliarr (S. umbla). and the Welsh ■Charr (S. savelinus). The other Salmonidae are the Smelt (Qjmerus e5i>eilanus), the Grayling (Thymal- lus vulgaris), the Gwvniad (Coregonus fera ?), the Vendace (Coregonus, Willughbii), and the Argentine (Scopelus, Humboldtii). Fig. 2-M51 represents a Salmon Fishery on the Si>strai)d fiord (or loch), in Norway. The Norwegian salmon, which are large and of excellent quality, are caught in various ways. One of their methods deserves a description, and seems to be very etfeclive. In descending one of the longest and most picturesque of the fiords (Siis- trand fiord), Mr. Twining's attention was caught by a number of small barrels floating on the surface of the water. "These barrels," he says, "at a short distance from each other, were secured each by a thin rope or cord, and all these cords were joined to- gether at the end of a high scaffold that projected over the fiord : it was a sort of platform, long and narrow, one end of which rested on the bank, while the other, at a slight angle of elevation, was sup- ported l)y long poles on the edge of a rock that ad- vanced into the water. It was not long before I saw the head and arm of a man, whose body was con- ■cealed behind a sort of screen, made of planks, at the end of the platform. Although he did not make the least motion, he appeared very much occupied, and was evidently not perched on that frail obser- vatory for motives of mere curiosity. My boatman explained the enigma by telling me that he was fish- ing for salmon. A large net is suspended horizontally under the barrels, and the extreme transparency of the wafer of the fiord permits the fisherman to see all the fish that swim in it. When a shoal of sal- mon passes over his net, he itipidly draws up in one clue all the cords attached to the different barrels : the barrels thus close together at one point, — the net is shut, and all the fish in it are taken. Al- though the fiords abound with fish, as do also the mountain-streams that discharge themselves into them, it appears that these men often lie in ambush the best part of a day without taking any- thing,—but one fortunate capture is an ample re- ward."* On the rivers and streams there is a very simple method of taking salmon in large quantities. They either make artificial embankments, or avail them- selves of ledg-es of rocks that divide the stream into several narrow channels. On each of these chan- nels they place two sluices, the one above and the other below, in such a manner that they can be opened and shut at pleasure. The fish, having once entered these locks, are prevented from pro- ceeding or returning, and, the water being let off, they are taken by the hand without any trouble. The method is also common in Sweden, where, on the river Deje, they often thus take from five to eight hundred salmon in a single day. The greater part of the salmon caught in the fiords are salted and exported, but many of the fish are sold fresh in the neighbouring country at the rate of about an English penny the pound. Angling seems too slow an operation for the Norwegians ; but several English gentlemen, who of late years have been attracted by the romantic beauty of the country and the love of fishing, have found excellent sport in that way, particularly on the fiord where Dron- theim is situated, and in the streams leading to it, which abound with salmon, salmon-trout, and other species. Before proceeding to the next family, we venture to introduce the portraiture of a fisherman of the olden time, one famous for his skill in the gentle craft, right eloquent in the commendation of the art which he loved so well, and happy in the eluci- dation of its details. It is the portraiture of " one well known and as well beloved of all good men," — of no less a personage than honest Izaak Walton himself, " the father of angling," dressed as he was wont when he left the noise and bustle of London, and betook himself to the banks of the Lea, amidst the tranquil scenery of the fresh green fields, there to watch his trembling quill, and listen the while to the milkmaid's artless song, or muse upon the beau- ties of nature, keenly alive to her ever-varying charms. (See page 165, Fig. 2462.) It was in 16.o3 that he published ' The Complete Angler, or Contemplative Man's Recreation,' a work • • Voyije en Norwege et en Su!de,' p« Henri Twining. which, to use the words of Sir Nicholas Harris, " whether considered as a treatise on the art of angling, or as a beautiful pastoral, abounding in exquisite descriptions of rural scenery, in sentiments of the purest morality, and in an unaffected love of the Creator and his works, has long been ranked among the most popular compositions in our lan- guage." Izaak Walton was born at Stafibrd, on the 9th of August, 1593, and died at Winchester on the 15th of December, 1683. His remains lie in Win- chester Cathedral. Family CLUPEIDJE (PILCHARDS, HER- RINGS, &c.). 2463. — Tub Pilchabd (Gupea Pikliardus). Gipsey Herring, in Scot- land. In the genus Clupca the body is compressed, the scales are large, thin, and deciduous, the teeth minute or wanting. The dorsal fin is single ; the line of the abdomen fornis a sharp keel-like edge, ! which in some species is serrated. Branchiostegous rays eight. The pilchard bears a strong resemblance to the herring, but, instead of being found on every part of the coasts of Britain, like that fish, its geo- graphical distribution is exceedingly limited, and in this country it is only found in any great numbers on the shores of Devon and Cornwall, chiefly from Dartmouth to Padstow, round the Land's End. It requires a warmer and more genial latitude than the herring, and, though occasionally taken at Yar- mouth, and as far north as Dublin and Belfast, yet these are only individuals separated by accident from the great shoal. Pilchards frequent the French coasts, as well as those of Spam, but not in great numlaers ; the French fish for them in the Bay of Biscay, attract- ing them to their nets by throwing overboard large quantities of the salted row of fishes, of which they are very fond. On the southern coast of Ireland large shoals sometimes make their appearance, and about seventy years ago a tolerably productive fishery was there carried on. The south-western coast of England, stretching further south than any other part of the United Kingdom, is, however, their most favoured haunt ; and individuals are there to be found at all seasons of the year. If the causes which regulate their movements were perfectly understood, there can be no doubt but that their habits would be found directed by as wonderful a degree of instinct as that which governs other portions of the unreason- ing creation, with whose history we are better ac- quainted. Mr. Yarrell, in his interesting account of the pilchard (vol. ii. p. 96), says — " In January they keep near the bottom, and are chiefly seen in the stomachs of ravenous fishes ; in March they sometimes assemble in schulls (shoals), and thou- sands of hogsheads have in some years been taken in scans, but this union is only partial and not per- manent ; and it is not until July that they regularly and permanently congregate so as to be sought after by the fishermen." The pilchard sometimes spawns in May, but the usual season is October. Pennant stated that their vvinter retreat was the same as the herring, and that the same impulses brought them from thence to our shores ; but it is now clear that their migration consists merely of a change from the deep sea to the shore, and again from the shore to the deep adjacent sea. Their course generally appears to be from the west, but, like the herring, the pilchard is very uncertain in its movements. Dr. Forbes* says, — " Both the period of their arrival and departure, and also the course they take, are uncertain, and have varied gi-eatly in different years. Fifty or sixty years since they remained on the coasts till Christmas, and the fishermen were engaged in their capture five or six months, but now the season does not last more than two or three months. Some years ago, indeed, they either did not appear at all on the Cornish coast, or only for a few weeks, or even days. In former years they also appeared first on the r^orthern coasts of Cornwall, towards the east, from whence they proceeded westward round the Land's End, and then eastward along the southern coasts. Lately, however, they have on some oc- casions scarcely touched on the northern coasts, but have made their first appearance on the eastern parts of the south coast." The pilchard measures from nine to eleven inches in length ; it contains more oleaginous matter than the herring ; the body is thicker and rounder, and less compressed; the under jaw shorter ; the scales larger, and forming a closer texture than those of the herring, which drop off and are smaller and thinner; the line of the abdomen smooth. The upper part of the pilchard is a bluish green ; the belly a silvery white ; head golden-coloured yellow; tail dusky. The pilchard has no teeth, in which respect ,it differs from the • ' Mcdic>l Topography of the Land's End, 1833. herring. The dorsal or back fin of the pilchard being placed in the centre of gravity, the body will rest in an exact horizontal position if taken up by this part, whereas in the herring, the dorsal fin being more backwards than the centre, the fish on being taken up by it will not remain equipoised, but the head drops downwards. The stations of the pilchard fishery are St. Ives, on the northern coast of Cornwall ; Mount's Bay, on the southern coast ; thence eastward at St. Mawes, at Mevagissey, and to the coasts of Devon. There are two modes of fishing, one with scans and the other with drift-nets. The former requires a considerable capital : about eighteen men are em- ployed in conducting the operations of a single " concern," and three boats are necessary ; while the drift-nets are managed by from four to six men in a single boat. The sean-fishery is carried on near the shore, the dfiff-fishery further at sea; and while the former supplies the foreign demand, the latter is chiefly engaged in providing for the imme diate consumption of the home market, as from the manner in which the fish are taken they are not s(i well adapted for curing as those caught by the scans. The nets used in the sean-fishery are, a stop-sean, with lead weights at the bottom, and corks at the top to keep it floating, which costs between 300/. and 400/., being about a quarter of a mile in length and neariy 100 feet in depth ; and atuck-sean, which is made with a hollow in the middle, is one-half the size in length, and eighteen feet deeper than the larger net : it costs about 100/. Two boats, of about fifteen tons each, are used, in one of which the stop- sean is carried ; the other, which carries the tuck- sean, is required to assist in enclosing the fish, and is called the "volyer," supposed to be a corruption of " follower ;" the smaller boat, of from two to four tons' burthen, is used to carry the men to and from the shore, besides being useful when the men are engaged with the nets; it is called a "lurker," and the crew consists of the master-seaner with three of the men, while the remainder are equally divided between the other two boats. The most favourable place for the sean-fishing is a fine sandy bay. The fishermen commence their labours towards evening, proceeding at that time to the place which the fish may be expected to visit, and there they cast an- chor. Should a shoal make its appearance, the master-seaner and his men are instantly on the alert, in order to ascertain the extent of the shoal, and the nature of the ground over which it is passing. As soon as the shoal is within the depth of the scan, the boat containing it is rowed round, and when they have reached the proper place the three men whose business it is to attend to the net heave it out with the greatest despatch. This great body of net, rope, corks, and lead, is thrown into the sea in less than five minutes. During the whole of these proceedings the movements of the fisher- men are directed by signs from the master-seaner in the lurker, as the pilchard is easily alarmed. We learn from Mr. Y'arrell's work that " The scan at first forms a curved line across the course of the fish ; and while the two larger boats are employed in warping the ends together, the lurker's station is in the openings, where, by dashing the water, the fish are kept away from the only place of escape. When the scan is closed and the ends are laid to- gether, if the body of the fish be great, and the sea or tide strong, the net is secured by heavy grap- nels, which are attached to the head-roiies bv haw- sers. When the evening has closed in, and tfie tide is low, they proceed to take up the fish. For this purpose, leaving the stop-sean as before, the volyer passes within it, and lays the tuck-sean round it on the inner side ; it is then drawn together so as gra- dually to contract the limits of the fish, and raise them from the bottom. When disturbed they be- come exceedingly agitated ; and so great is the force derived from their numbers and fear, that the utmost caution is used lest the net should either sink or be burst. When the tucksean is thus gr.i- dually contracting, and the boats surround it, stones suspended from ropes, called minnies, are re- peatedly plunged into the water at that part where escape alone is practicable, until the fish then to be taken are supported in the hollow or bunt of the scan." It is stated that it is not more diflicult to take a thousand hogsheads of fish than to take a single hogshead ; and as the movements of a large body are slower than a smaller, the difiiculty is probably less. Instances have occurred in which two thou- sand hogsheads, or about five million fish, have been caught at once : but when a very large num- ber are caught, only so many are taken out of the net at one time as the boats can conveniently carry, and a week or ten days may elapse before the whole are secured. By this arrangement the processof salting or curing is properly performed ; whereas, if the whole were compelled to be brought on shore at once, many would be spoiled, from the impos- IlERRrNG.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 163 sibility of getting through the work in proper time. Tlie fish are brought to the surface by a small net, and two men with a large basket bale them out of the net into the boat. When the fishery is carried on beyond the usual distance from the coast, as at Mount's Bay (see Fig. 2464, Pilchard Fishing in Mount's Bay), the fish are conveyed to the shore in small sloops of a few tons" burthen. In ordinary cases it is conveyed by the sean boats. At St. Ives huers are employed, though at all the other stations they have been discontinued. The huers, accord- ing to Mr. Yarrell, are " men posted on elevated situations near the sea, who by various concerted signals, made with a bunch of fyrze in each hand, direct the fishermen how best to surround a schull of fish." They perform the part which is novir assigned to the master-seanerin the lurker. In some seasons there are what is called the first and second catch ; the latter being at a period when the season has in other years generally terminated. The tishing by drift or driving nets is generally carried on in common flshing-boats, manned by four men and a boy. These boats have generally either lug-sails or sprit-sails ; and there are often as many as twenty nets to each boat, the whole of which being joined together extend three-fourths of a mile in length, though they may be much shorter, — the excellence and superiority of the tackle depending upon the extent of the fisherman's capital. The fish, on being brought to the shore, are at once taken to the cellars or store-houses, where they are salted and ranged in heaps, from five to six feet in height, and in some instances ten or twelve feet wide. After remaining in this state for five or six days, they are packed into hogsheads. By the ap- plication of a powerful lever at the top of the hogs- head, the oil is extracted, and runs out of the casks through holes made for the purpose. The pressing continues for about a fortnight. The refuse salt, ■which is mixed with the scales and blood of the fish, is sold as manure to the farmers, and is applied with great advantage to the land. It is estimated that the refuse of each pilchard will manure one square foot of land. It is computed that forty-eight hogsheads of pil- chards will yield two hundred and fifty-two gallons of oil. In 1801 a tun of this oil was worth from 20/. to 25/., but is now of much less value. Five bushels of salt, of eighty-four pounds each, are re- quired in curing one hogshead of pilchards, which contains about three thousand fish, and weighs be- tween five and six hundredweight. A stock of three thousand bushels is the average consumption of salt by a single sean in a favourable season. 2465. — The Herring (Clupea Harengm). Contrary to the opinion of Pennant and other naturalists, the herring is a resi- dent in the deep water all round our coast, and only approaches the shores for the purpose of depositing its spawn, which accomplished, it returns to the deep. Pennant, however, describes the shoals as making the Arctic circle their winter rendezvous ; and on their return he says they first make their appearance off the Shetland Isles in April and May ; but these, he adds, " are only forerunners of the grand shoal which comes in June ; and their appearance is marked by certain signs, by the numbers of birds, such as gannets and others, which follow to prey on them : but when the main body approaches, its breadth and depth are such as to alter the very ap- pearance of the ocean. It is divided into distinct columns of five or six miles in length, and three or four in breadth, and they drive the water before them with a kind of rippling; sometimes they sink for the space of ten or fifteen minutes, then rise again to the surface, and in bright weather reflect a variety of splendid colours. The first check this army meets in its march southward is from the Shetland Isles, which divide it into two parts. One wing takes to the east, the other to the western shores of Great Britain, and fill every bay and creek with their numbers. Others pass on towards Yarmouth, the great and ancient mart of herrings ; they then pass through the British Chan- nel, and after that in a manner disappear. Those which take to the west, after offering themselves to the Hebrides, where the great stationary fishery is, proceed towards the north of Ireland, where they meet with a second interruption, and are obliged to make a second division. The one takes to the western side, and is scarce perceived, being soon lost in the immensity of the Atlantic ; but the other, which passes into the Irish Sea, rejoices and feeds the inhabitants of most of the coasts that border on it." Now so far from this migration to and from the Arctic circle taking place, it would appear that the herring has never been seen by voyagers or whale- fishers in those high northern latitudes. On the southern coast of Greenland " some few of the large sort of herrings are taken," says Crantz, and he pre- tiousiy states that the Angmarset, a small herring Vol. II. about six inches long, is the common food of the Greenlanders, and this species was found by Sir John Franklin on the shore of the Polar basin. No great shoals of the common herring, however, have been observed. If this fish does not make the I Arctic circle its asylum, so on the other hand it ' never visits the warmer latitudes, nor farther south than the adjacent parts of the coast of France. The extent of its migratory movements then is very limited: from the shore to the deep sea, and from the deep sea to the shore. The common her- ring spawns in October or the beginning of No- vember; and two or three months previous to this, generally in the middle of July, when the fish are in high condition, the shoals collect off various parts of our coast, at which period the fishery, of such national importance, is carried on ; after spawn- ing the shoals depart, but young herrings, which, unlike the salmon, do not mature their roe for the first year, abound in the shallows around our coast throughout the winter, and during the whole of the summer, and are often caught in small meshed nets used for taking sprats, atherine, and other fishes. It is a remarkable circumstance in the history of the herring, that the shoals are extremely capricious with respect to the localities they visit, and that too without any accountable reason. For years they will resort by myriads to a given station, which will then be deserted, and some portion of a coast where they have previously been extremely rare will be- come thronged >vith countless multitudes. There is scarcely a fishing station, says Mr. Yarrell, round the British Islands that has not experienced in the visits of this fish the greatest variations, both as to time and quantity. These frequent changes of their haunts have led to many speculations. " Ordinary philosophy," says Dr. McCuUoch, " is never satisfied unless it can find a solution for everything, and is satisfied for this reason with imaginary ones. Thus in Long Island, one of the Hebrides (a great fishing station in the time of Charles the First), it was as- serted that the fish had been driven away by the manufacture of kelp ; some imaginary coincidence having been found between their disappearance and the establishment of that business. But the kelp fires did not drive them away from other shores, which they frequent and abandon indifferently with- out regard to this work. It has been a still more favourite and popular fancy that they were driven away by the firing of guns, and hence this is not allowed during the tishing season. A gun has scarcely been fired in the Western Islands or on the west coast since the days of Cromwell, yet they have changed their places many times in that in- terval. In a similar manner, and with equal truth, it was said they had been driven from the Baltic by the battle of Copenhagen. It is amusing to see how old theories are revived. This is a very an- cient Highland hypothesis, with the necessary modi- fication. Before the days of gunpowder the High- landers held that they quitted the coasts where blood had been shed ; and thus ancient philosophy is renovated. Steam-boats are now supposed to be the culprits, since a reason must be found : to prove their eft'ect, Loch Fyne, visited by a steam-boat daily, is now their favourite haunt, and they have deserted other lochs where steam-boats have never' yet smoked." Mr. Yarrell gives a ludicrous example of one reason why herrings desert an old station ; his words are, — " A member of the House of Com- mons during the sessions of 1835, in a debate on the tythe bill, stated that a clergyman having at- tained a living on the coast of Ireland, signified his intention of taking the tythe of fish, which was, however, considered to be so utterly repugnant to their privileges and feelings, that not a single her- ring had ever since visited that part of the shore." The food of the herring ctinsists of small crustacea and fishes ; and it would appear that they do not spare the young of their own race, for Dr. Neill found five young herrings in the stomach of a large female. They have been caught by anglers with an artificial fly, and the fishermen have not unfrequently taken them with lines, the hooks having been baited with limpets. It is doubtless to the quality and supply of food which different stations present, that the superiority of the herrings of one place to those of another is to be attributed. Mr. Jesse, in his ' Gleanings in Natural History,' states that the her- rings of Cardigan Bay are much superior to those taken at Swansea. Abundance of nutritive food, we may readily suppose, will tend to the develop- ment of the roe ; and shoals that have luxuriated on a perpetual feast are perhaps those which ap- pear the soonest on our coasts. At all events the herring season is not at precisely the same time in every place. For example, on the western coast of Scotland the fishery has sometimes terminated be- fore that on the eastern coast has commenced ; it has sometimes in a southern part of the coast than farther north, and on the western coast of the county of Cork before any other part of the United King- dom. These facts, moreover, militate against the once universally received theory of their simulta- neous Arctic migration and return. The herring dies almost the instant that it is taken out of the water, and this in some measure results from the width of the gill-openings. But it is to be observed that " those fisli which swim near the surface of the water, have a high standard of respi- ration, a low degree of muscular irritability, and great necessity for oxygen, die soon — almost imme- diately— when taken out of water, and haveflesh prone to rapid decomposition : mackerel, salmon, trout,and herrings are examples. On the contrary those fish that live near the bottom of the w^ater have a low standard of respiration, a high degree of muscular irritability and less necessity for oxygen ; they sus- tain life long after they are taken out of the water, and their flesh remains good for several days : carp, tench, eels, the difi'erent sorts of skate, and all the flatfish may be quoted" (Yarrell). . The destruction made by man, by gannets, and other water-birds, and by larger fishes, amongst the shoals of herrings, is almost incalculable ; yet their numbers appear undiminished, myriads supplying the places of the myriads destroyed. The roe of the herring weighs four hundred and eighty grains, and is composed of eggs varying in number from three to four thousand. Thus it is then that this fish, by the economy of a wise Providence, yields to man a never-failing supply, the balance between loss and increase being duly maintained. Asvi-e have said, the herring fishery is only carried on during spawning season, er rather before it, when the fish are in the highest perfection. The Yarmouth herring fishery commences about the middle of September, but the season varies at dif- ferent parts of the coast. On the coast of Suther- land the early herring fishery commences in June ;; the late fishery about the middle of July, and con-" tinues until September. On the coast of Cromarty large shoals appear as early as the month of May. The great object is to obtain a supply for the purpose of curing, although, in the early part of the season, large numbers of fresh herrings are brought to the London market from Yarmouth ; and the consumption at Norwich and other places, which are not at a great distance from the coast, is also considerable. The fish are sometimes so rich in the early part of the season as to be unfit for curing, and on this account they are brought into the market for immediate consumption. The spawning season being over by the end of October or the beginning of November, the fishing terminates, as the herrings are then in a poor and exhausted condition. The size of the boat used in the herring fishery depends upon the distance from the shore at which the fishery is intended to be carried on, and also as to whether the intention be to cure red herrings or white herrings. As red herrings must be cured on shore, while white-herrings require only to be salted and put into barrels, those who are engaged in the- red-herring trade find it convenient to keep withini a certain distance of the coast. The white herrings- may be cured on board the vessel ; and as the fishermen may go out to sea wherever the fish are to be found, this is called a deep-sea fishery, and of course a vessel of a larger description is required than when the cargo has to be taken as speedily as possible to the drying-house. The business at Yarmouth is entirely in red herrings, which are in the greatest demand for the home market, while the export trade, carried on at other ports, chiefly consists of white herrings. The same men are in general acquainted with each mode of curing. The vessels fitted out for the deep-sea fishery meet with the earliest and best herrings ; and, owing to the manner in which herrings desert parts of the coast which they have been accustomed to frequent, it is a more permanent source of profit than the boat fishery, though it requires a large capital. The vessels must contain sufficient room in the hold for t.he stowage of salt, nets, barrels, and provisions. They lie low in the water, and the sides are furnished with rollers and lee-boards to facilitate the drawing in of the nets. The Dutch, who pursued the deep- sea fishery, and once carried it on with great spirit and success, were usually provided with a double set of nets for fear of accident ; as their distance from port would have rendered the loss or destruc- tion of one set a matter of serious consequence, and the hopes of a whole season might have been lost. The Yarmouth boats are generally of about fifty tons' burthen, and manned with eleven or twelve men, of whom one-fourth are usually landsmen. In addition, there are two landsmen who are employed in ferrying to and from the decked vessel, and in curing the herrings on shore. The fishing-places are from fifteen to thirty miles north of Yarmouth, from thirty to forty-five miles to the eastward, and the boats go southward as far as the mouth of the Thames and the South Foreland. The depth of water in which the fishery is carried on is from fifteen t* twenty fathoms. The Yarmouth fishitiff Y2 :.'^^ ., — i I'.Tnn; -boats at Yarmouth Jettv. £-168. — Varmoa:h Deacli cart with FUh. £462.— Izaak Wilton. S469. — Comish Fisherwomen of Mount's Bay. S4T0.— Spnt. UTl^Twaiti Shad. 8171.— Sprat-fishing In the Thames, off Purfleef. 165 166 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Sprat. Te«eb are fitted out at a coat of about 1000/. each. Each of them is fumuhed with from one hundred and eighty to two hundred nets, which cost between 300/. and 400/. ; and with six ropes, each one hundred and twenty fathoms in length, weighing separately from four to four and a hah luindredweight, and of the total value of 50/. or GO/. These nets and ropes retjuire to be renewed nearly every fourth year, owmg to the destructive eti'ects of the sea and the ravages of dog-Bsh, which, in preying upon the herrings when they are inclosed within the nets, injure tne nets themselves. A» illustrations of the above account, we refer to the following figures : Fig. 24G0. the Beach at Yarmouth: fishermen going out : Fig. 2467, the Yarmouth Jetty; herring-boats returned: Fig. 2468, Yarmouth Beach-cart for carrying the produce of the fishins-boats to the town. Extensive fisheries are carried on along the coast of Scotland. We may here observe that a second species of herring (Leach's herring, Clupea Leachii, Yarrell) visits our coast in autumn : it is of superior quality. This species deposits its spawn in February, and is perhaps the first of the three kinds said to visit the Baltic ; these are the strombling or small spring herring, which spawns when the ice begins to melt, a larger summer herring, and lastly the autumn herring, which makes its appearance towards the middle of September. The length of Leach's herring is only seven and a half inches, it is how- ever deeper than the common herring in proportion to its length. Fig. 2469, Cornish Fisherwomen from the neigh- bourhood of Mount's Bay. These women wait the return of vessels engaged m the fishery of herrings, pilchards, mackerel, &c. ; with these they fill their willow ' cauwals ' or deep baskets, which they carry on their backs to different towns near the coast, in order to dispose of the contents. 2470.— The Spbat (Clupea Sprattus). Garvie Herring in Scotland. For a long period this fish was regarded by naturalists as the young of the herring or the pilchard, but the specific difference is now well established, and a momentary glance is sufficient to enable the observer to detect the sprat among the young of the pilchard or herring of its own dimen- sions. In the sprat the line or ridge of the abdomen is strongly serrated, so that by the feel alone the dis- tinction may be appreciated. Like the herring, the sprat moves in vast shoals, which in summer frequent the deep water, advanc- ing towards the close of autumn towards the shore ; they then enter bays, and advance up rivers, in numbers incalculable. Early in the month of November the fishing season commences, and con- tinues during the winter; and not only are the London and other markets supplied by bushels, but tons are used as manure, for the wheat lands and hop-grounds of our south-western counties ; and if judicious regulations were adopted, the demand for this purpose might benefit the fishermen without a decrease of the quantity sent into the markets for consumption. In Sir Humphry Davy's ' Elements of Agricultural Chemistry,' a work with which it is to be regretted farmers are so seldom acquainted, the following account is given of the use of fish as a manure : — "Fish," observes this eminent chemist, "forms a powerful manure, in whatever state it is applied ; but it cannot be ploughed in too fresh, though the quantity should be limited. Mr. Young records an experiment, in which herrings spread over a field, and ploughed in for wheat, produced so rank a crop that it was entirely laid before harvest. The refuse pilchards in Cornwall are used throughout the county as a manure with excellent effects. They arc usually mixed with sand or soil, and sometimes with sea-weed, to prevent them from raising too luxuriant a crop. The effects are perceived for several years. In the fens of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, the little fish called sticklebacks are caught in the shallow waters in such quantities, that they form a great article of manure in the land bordering on the fens. It is easv to explain the operation of fish as a manure. The skin is princi- pally gelatine, which, from its slight state of cohesion, IS readily soluble in water ; fat or oil is always found in fishes, either under the skin or in some of the viscera, and their fibrous matter contains all the essential elements of vegetable substances. Amongst oily substances blubber has been employed as manure. It is most useful when mixed with clay, sand, or any common soil, so as to expose a large surface to the air, the oxygen of which produces soluble matter from it. Lord Somerville used blubber with great success at his farm in Surrey. It was made into a heap with soil, and retained its power of fertilizing for several successive years. The carbon and hydrogen abounding in oily sub- stances fully account for their effects, and their durability is easily explained from the gradual manner in which they change by the action of air and water."' The quantity of sprats used as manure now amounts, it is believed, to many thousand tons each year. The price varies from tcnpence to one shilling and three pence, and sometimes has been as high as one shilling and sixpence per bushel : in 1829 large quantities were purchased at sixpence per bushel. About forty bushels per acre is the quantity usually applied. Barge loads, con- taining one thousand five hundred bushels, were sent up the Med way to Maidstone in 1829, and the hop- grounds were abundantly manured; and so near London as Dartfoi-d the farmers enrich the land with this species of manure. The fishing season commences, as we have said, in November, and the foggy and gloomy nights which prevail at that period are considered most favourable to the fishermen. The finest fish are caught in the same manner as mackerel; but the largest quantities are taken by the stow-boats, manned with five or six men. Mr. Yarrell (p. 123, vol. ii. ' British Fishes ') gives the following description of this mode : — "The stow-boat net goes with two horizontal beams : the lower one, twenty-two feet long, is suspended a fathom above the ground ; the upper one, a foot shorter in length, is suspended about six fathoms above the lower one. "To these two beams, or 'balks,' as they are called, a large bag-net is fixed, towards the end of which, called the hose, the mesh is fine enough to stop very small fry. The mouth of the net, twenty-two feet wide and thirty-six feet high, is kept square by hanging it to a cable and heavy anchor at the four ends of the beams. The net is set under the boat's bottom : and a rope from each end of the upper beam brought up under each bow of the boat, raises and sustains the beam, and keeps the mouth of the net always open, and so moored that the tide carries everything into it. A strong rope, which runs through an iron ring at the middle of the upper beam, and is made fast to the middle of the lower beam, brings both beams together parallel, thus closing the mouth of the net when it IS required to be raised." The meshes of the net are so small, that a pen could scarcely be inserted in them, and nothing but water will pass through. Hence the destruction of small fry is immense, and it is alleged that the scarcity of turbots, brills, soles, and other fish in those parts of the coast where they were once abundant is occasioned by the stow-boats. Some of the fishermen state that about twenty years ago large quantities of soles and a few tur- bots were caught off the coast of Kent without difficulty, but that these fish have now become scarce, and the fishermen are not in consequence so well off. A committee of the House of Commons on (he British Channel Fisheries, which sat in 1833, made the following observations on this point, and re- commended some interference: — "'This branch of fishing (it is observed in the Report) has greatly increased, and there are at present from lour hun- dred to five hundred boats engaged in stow-boating on the Kentish coast only, which remain upon the fishing-grounds frequently for a week together, not for the purpose of catching sprats, or any other fish to be sold as food in the market, but until they have obtained full cargoes of dead fish for the purpose of manuring the land. Now from the veiy destructive nature of this fishery, its being of modern introduc- tion, and considering also the almost boundless ex- tent to which a demand for its produce may be car- lied, if the system be permitted to continue without restriction, your committee have been incUned to question whether its further prosecution ought not to be entirely prevented ; but upon the best consi- deration which they have been able to give to the subject, they recommend that at least it should not be permitted to be carried on with ground or drag nets, between the 1st of April and the last day of November in every year ; nor with drift or floating nets in the bay during the breeding season, namely, from the 1st day of May to the last day of August, within a league of the low-water mark, or in less than ten fathoms' water ; nor at any other time with nets of so small a mesh as is now generally used." None of these recommendations have yet been adopted. The sprat is most abundant on the coasts of Nor- folk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent ; but like the herring this fish is capricious in its movements. About fifty years since vast shoals made their appearance off the coast of Devon, which is now regularly vi- sited. In Scotland the sprat is comparatively rare, and is sold in Edinburgh market by the dozen. In Cornwall, the true sprat is seldom seen, but the name is appropriated to the fry of the herring and pilchard ; and per contra on the eastern coast of England, where the true pilchard is rare, the term pilchard is given to the fry of the shad, and the half-grown herring. The sprat is occasionally taken on the coasts of Cork, Dublin, and Belfast. Those who Jive in or near London, and those who have passed a winter in London, well know the abundance of the sprat in the markets. Bushels are seen from day to day in the fishmongers' shops, and bushels are cried about the streets; London and its suburbs are deluged with sprats, sold, not by the dozen, but by rough measurement, at a cheap rate. Nor is their consumption confined to the humbler classes ; though rich and oily, the sprat is an exeel- lent fish, and a dish, hot from the gridiron, finds'fai vour even with the wealthy. From its small size, a full-grown sprat measuring only about six inches, this fish is never cured like the herring, and is alwavs sold fresh. The upper parts of the back are of a dark blue with green rene](ions, passing into silvery white on the sides. Fig. 2471 represents a Sprat-boat fishing off Pur- fleet in the Thames. 2472.— Thb TwAm Shad (Alosajinia). In the genus Alosa there is a deep notch in the centre of the upper jaw. Two species ,pf shad inhabit our seas, the Allice shad (Alosa communis), and the present, both sea fishes which enter high up our rivers to deposit their spawn ; the latter being abundant in the Severn, but little known elsewhere. The twaite shad, which is the Clupea Alosa of Lin- naeus, differs from the allice shad, with which many have confounded it, in being of much smaller size, averaging from twelve to sixteen inches in length, in having a lateral row of spots, in possessing teeth while the allice shad is toothless, and in the last fin below being comparatively smaller. The twaite shad moreover is much more widely distributed. It is common in the Thames, where it advances as high as Greenwich, but formerly it was abundant in the Thames at Millbank above Putney Bridge. It visits the Severn, and is occasionally taken off the coast of Norfolk. Northwards its range is very ex- tensive ; Professors Nilsson and Reinhaidt enume- rate it among the fishes of Scandinavia. It is in the month of May that this fish works its way up our rivers, and those of the adjacent conti- nent, in order to deposit its spawn, which accom- plished, it returns to the sea towards the end of July. In the Thames it is caught in considerable abundance, but the fishing is not allowed after the 30th of June, in order that the survivors may not be interrupted in the great purpose for which they visit the river. The flesh, however, of the twaite shad is very inferior to that of the allice, being dry and full of bones. The young both of the twaite and allice appear to grow very slowly. With respect to the former, Mr. Y^arrell says, " I have obtained the young only two inches and a half long in October ; " and he adds that in the following spring he found them only four inches long, and the young of the larger allice shad (which when adult )s from two to three feet in length) only six inches. The food of the shad consists of small fishes and various kinds of Crustacea, as shrimps, &c. The twaite shad has the line of the abdomen strongly serrated ; the top of the head and back is dusky blue with brown and green reflexions; the sides are silvery white, with a coppery tinge, and a row of six or more dark spots from the edge of the gill-orifice to the tail. The mucous vessels on the surface of the gill-covers are beautifully arbores- cent. 2473. — The Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus). Clupea encrasicolus, Linn. ; Engraulis vulgaris, Cuv. In the ^enus Engraulis, the head is pointed, the upper jaw the longest; the mouth deeply di- vided, the gape extending backwards beyond the line of the eyes. Branchial apertures large, the ventral fins somewhat anterior to the line of the commencement of the dorsal. Abdomen smooth. Branchiostegous rays twelve. From the earliest times, the anchovy has been celebrated, and a sauce or condiment prepared from it, called garum or yai>ov, was in high cslima- tion among the Greeks and Romans. The anchovy is abundant in the Mediterranean, and along the coasts of Spain, Portugal, and France,> and extends thence northwards, being occasionally found in the Baltic. It occurs also on various parts of our coast, as Hampshire, Cornwall, W'ales, &c. ; and is said to be frequently sold in the Liverpool market. In general the anchovy measures from four to five inches in length, but occasionally it is found much larger. Mr. Yarrell quotes a statement of Mr. Couch, who says, " I have seen it in the Cornish seas of the length of seven inches and a half; and I have met with specimens from autumn through winter to the middle of March ; it is therefore pro- bable that a fishery might be established with good prospect of success, for though the nets employed Cod-fish.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 167 for other fish can take but few of them, the numbers found in the stomachs of the whiting and other ra- venous fishes show that they are in considerable abundance." In preparing this fish for use the head and viscera are always removed, otherwise the pickle would be intensely bitter ; it was in fact supposed to have the gall in its head. ORDER MALACOPTERIGII continued. SECTION SUBBRACHIALES. In this section the ventral fins are attached under the pectoral fins, the bones of the former being attached to the bones of the shoulder, supporting the latter. Family GADID^E (COD-FISH, COAL-FISH, &c.). In this family the ventral tins, seated under the pec- torals, are pointed ; the scales are soft ; the flesh is white, separates into flakes, and is wholesome. The common cod-fish, a native of the northern seas universally, is a typical example. In the United Kingdom alone, the cod-fishery gives employment to thousands ; to say nothing of the great iishery on the banks of Newfoundland. There appear to be two distinct varieties of the cod-fish ; one of which, called the Dogger-Bank Cod, has a sharp nose elongated before the eye, and the body of a very dark colour ; the other has a round blunt nose, short and wide before the eyes, and the body of a light yellowish ash green. It is frequently called the Scotch Cod. The former prevails along our south- ern coast ; the broad-nosed fish is mostly confined to the north. Both varieties occur on the coast of Northumberland, and at the Isle of Man, where, perhaps from some peculiar food, they acquire a reddish brown colour, and are called Red Cod", or Ware Cod. The Cod Fish (Morrhua vulgaris) has three dorsal fins, two posterior fins below, and one barbule on the chin. This well-known fish is very voracious, devouring fimaller fishes, various kinds of moUusks, and Crus- tacea, and it readily seizes a bait : hence it is fished for with lines and hooks. In the deep sea, oft" the Cornish coast, butters are used, that is, long cords with smaller cords at given intervals attached to them, of about six feet in length, and furnished with hooks; these smaller lines are called snoods, and the distance between each snood is double that of its own length, to prevent entanglement. The baits used are portions offish, whelks, limpets, &c., and thus prepared the bulters are laid across the tide, their extension being secured by means of an- chors or grapnels, and buoys are attached by ropes to each end of the line. Were this line not laid or shot across the tide, but longitudinally in the direction of its ebb and flow, the hooks would all be forced together, and the period of one tide's fishing inevitably wasted. It is usual to lay the lines at the time of slack water, between each ebb and flow ; and they are left for one flow and ebb, and then hauled up for examination. Besides bulters, hand-lines are also used, each line armed with two hooks; two of such lines are managed by one man, and a single individual has been known to take from four hundred to five hundred and fifty fish on the banks of Newfoundland in the course of ten or eleven hours. Cod-fish are brought alive in well-boats up the Thames as high as Greenwich, where the water is still sufficiently saline to keep the fish alive. These well-boats, in which the live fish are stored, are stout cutter-rigged vessels of eighty or one hundred tons' burthen ; they contain a large well, stocked with the cod-fish, and of these a supply is sent every night to Billingsgate, where the fish arrive still quivering with life. The cod spawns about February, and Mr. Yarrell informs us that nine millions of eegs have been found in the roe of one female. This fish, and indeed all the Gadidae, as Whitings, Had- docks, &c., are in the greatest perfection as food from October to Christmas. Young cod-fish abound at the mouth of the Thames, and along the coast, and on various sand- banks in the Channel, and may be easily captured with hand-lines. Cod-fish, says Mr. Yarrell, have been kept in salt-water ponds in different parts of Scotland ; and are found to maintain their condition unimpaired. " Of these ponds there are three, one in Galloway, another in Fife, and a third in Orkney. That in Galloway is at Logan, the seat of Colonel M'Dowall ; it is a basin of thirty feet in depth, and one hundred and sixty in circumference, hewn out from the solid rock, and communicating with the sea by one of those fissures so common to bold and precipitous coasts. A fisherman is attached to this preserve, whose duty it is constantly to supply the fish with the necessary quantity of food, which several tpecies soon learn to take eagerly from the hand. In the course of the fishing for this daily supply, such fish as are not too much injured are placed in the reservoir ; the others are cut up in pieces for food for the prisoners. The whelks, limpets, and other testacea are boiled to free them from the shells : and no sooner does the keeper or his son appear with the well known basket of prepared food, than a hundred mouths are simultaneously opened to greet the arrival. The cod-fish are the most numerous in this preserve ; and one of them has lived twelve years in confinement and attained to a large size." Allied to the cod-fish are the fol- lowing, which we miw just enumerate : — the Dorse, or Variable Cod (Morrhua callarias), common in the Baltic ; the Whiting-pout or Bib (M. lusca) ; the poor or Power Cod (M. minuta) ; the Speckled Cod (M. punctata) ; the Pollack (Merlangus Polla- chius) ; the Green Cod (M. virens) ; the Hake (Mer- lucius vulgaris) ; the Ling (Lota molva), from the liver of which is extracted an oil, sometimes admi- nistered internally as a medicine, and useful in rheumatism ; the Barbot (Lota vulgaris). A few other species we shall more fully notice. 2474.— The Whiting {Merlangus vulgaris). In this genus there is no barbule at the chin ; the other characters are as in Morrhua. The whiting is common in our seas, perferring sandy banks as its haunt ; it may be caught with lines throughout the greater part of the year ; but in the months of January and February, when it approaches our coast in shoals for the purpose of breeding, it is the most abundant. Like the cod, the whiting is a voracious feeder, and often shifts its ground in pursuit of the hordes of fry, which wander about themselves in quest of prey, and be- coming in turn the prey of others. The London markets are well supplied with this fish, which is celebrated for the whiteness and de- licacy of its flaky flesh ; we seldom see it more than fifteen or sixteen inches in length, and of a pound and a half in weight ; sometimes, however, speci- mens occur weighing three or four pounds, and we were lately informed of one, by a gentlemen who partook of it, which weighed seven pounds. 2475. — ^The Coal-fish {Merlangus carbonarius). This species is a native of our seas, its range being extended to the shores of Spitzbergen and Davis's Straits. In the Baltic and around the Orkneys this fish swarms in vast shoals ; it is found also on the Cornish coast, and along various parts of the coast of Ireland. Though by no means remarkable for the excellence of its flesh, yet as it affords a cheap and abundant supply of food, vast numbers are taken in the islands of Scotland ; the young are preferred for immediate use, those which weigh twenty or thirty pounds are usually salted and dried. The coal-fish, according to Mr. Couch, is in the highest condition from October to December, at which season it prowls after prey in large shoals, which often prove a valuable capture to the fishermen. " They swim at no great depth, and with great rapidity, but when attracted by bait will keep near a boat until all are taken ; and I have known four men with two boats (two men in each boat) take twenty-four hundredweight with lines in a very few hours. The season for spawning is early in spi-ing ; immediately after which this fish becomes so lank as to be worthless, in which state it continues through the summer." The provincial names of this fish are very numerous. The adults are called by the Cornish fishermen Running (ravening) Pollacks ; in the islands of Scotland it is termed Sillock, Pillock, Cooth or Kuth, Cudden, Sey, Sethe, and Grey- Lord ; around the Forth the young are called Podleys ; at Newcastle, Coalsey, and when twelve inches long, Poodlers ; in Ireland it is known as the Black Pollack, Blocking, and Grey-Lord. (See Yarrell.) The colour of this fish on the back to the lateral disc is almost black ; below, the tint is paler, and passes into white with golden reflexions on the under parts; lips tinged with purple red; mouth black ; irides silvery white. 2476.- -The Three-bearded Rockling, or Sea Loche (Motella vulgaris). In the genus Motella the body is elongated, cylindrical, aud compressed posteriorly. The first dorsal fin is very slightly elevated, delicate in structure, and scarcely perceptible ; the second dorsal and the last under fin are long, and continued almost to the base of the tail fin. The three- bearded rockling is a rare fish, being seldom seen on any of our shores, excepting those of Cornwall and Devonshire, where it frequents the submerged rocks covered with luxuriant fronds of sea-weed, among which it lurks and ploughs its way in quest of food. It is not a deep-water fish, but gives preference to the shallows, where it procures small Crustacea, on which it principally subsists. It is seldom used as food, its flesh becoming unpleasant in a few hours. This fish is La MustSIe commune of Cuvier ; Gadus Mustek of Linnaeus ; the Weasel or Mustela of the Romans ; Ray terms it Mustela marina : Pennant states that it was called Whistle-fish from the fact of Cornish fishermen whistling when desirous of taking it, as if by that means its capture was facilitated ; but Mr. Yarrell could not find that such a custom was or had been practised, and he suspects, we think with reason, that Whistle-fish was a mistake, and that Weasel-fish should have been written. The three-bearded rockling is from fifteen to seventeen or eighteen inches in length ; there are two barbules on the snout above, and one on the chin. The general colour is rich yellow brown, spotted with deep chestnut ; undei" parts pale and unspotted. 2477. — The Five-bearded Rockling (Motella quinquecirrlmta). This species when full grown attains the length of eighteen or twenty inches, and in habits and food resembles the preceding; frequenting rocky and stony shallows, where it conceals itself under tufts of sea-weed, in fissures, and under fragments. It is more common than the three-bearded rockling, and Mr. Yarrell has observed it of small size in abundance along the Kentish coast in autumn, extending thence west- ward as far as Portland Island. According to Mr. Low it is common about the Orkneys. It has been taken at Dublin and Belfast. The general colour of this fish is pale bronze, of a golden tint, with streaks of purer gold above the lateral line in the direction of the ribs. The fins are of a brownish orange margined with red. There are four barbules on the snout above, and one of the chin. 2478.— The Torsk (Brositnus vulgaris). The genus Brosimus differs from Motella in the dorsal fin being single, and there is only one barbule at the chin. The torsk is a native of the northern seas, scarcely occurring below60°, orabove73'' ; it is abundant on the coast of Norway, around the Faroe Islands, and off the west and south coasts of Iceland. It is not uncommon around the Orkney Islands, arid swarms among those of Shetland. This fish lives in deep water having a rocky bottom covered with luxuriant sea-weeds, and in the islands of Scotland is cauaht with lines and hooks in the same manner as ling and cod, and is salted and dried in the same manner. In this state the flesh when boiled is excellent, but it is firm and rather tough when eaten fresh. In Scotland the torsk forms a considerable article of commerce, and is either dried or barrelled for sale. In Norway, we believe, it forms no branch of mer- chandise. The torsk is from eighteen inches to upwards of two feet in length ; the fins are thick and soft ; the head is dusky; the back and sides yellow, gradually merging into white. The fins are dusky brown, the edges of all, excepting the pectoral and ventral, 1)eing abruptly white ; the head in proportion to the body is small. Fig. 2479 represents one of the Fish-barks of St. Petersburg, floating fishmongers' shops, in which are bought and sold all the fish consumed in that capital during the summer. This ark is surrounded by numerous floating cisterns and boats, either pierced with small holes to admit the clear waters of the Neva, or filled with salt water for the natives of the sea. In these are kept various kinds of fish alive, while the bark is the fishmonger's residence, which communicates with the quay by means of a railed plank. On the application of a customer for fish, the person is conducted down a sloping plank to the reservoirs, and makes choice of the fish, which are secured by means of a small landing-net ; those which are not approved being returned to the proper vessels. In winter this mode cannot be practised, for the water is ice, and besides all sorts of food, as " fish, flesh, and fowl," are frozen as hard as wood. Fig 2480 represents an animated scene (from a celebrated painting by Leopold Robert of Neuf- chatel), representing "Le depart des Pecheurs de I'Adriatique pour la peche de long cours," or in other words, the fishermen of the Port of Chioggia near Venice, preparing to depart for the deep-sea fishing. How different such a scene from that which presents itself on the beach at Hastings or Yarmouth, or any of our British fishing-ports ! yet it is very characteristic. Family PLEURONECTID^ (PLAICE, TURBOT, SOLES, and FLAT-FISH generally). The Flat-fishes, as soles, &c., are so -vvell known, that were not some errors popularly entertained respecting their form, we might well refrain from entering into minute details j the upper surface of »4:«.-Thi«»l««0.- Brill. :.;.ir;;:;.;!ai| 17:; a«5.— Deep-nosed Pipe-fish. 2491.— Head of Eel. 2496.— Short Sun-fish. 2493.- Thames at Eton. 2492. — Sharp-nosed Eel. 2497.— Beloga Sturgeon. 2494.— Thamei Trout to Basket. 173 174 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Eels. is applied to a particular eel of small size, of which the tis:ure here introduced represents the head. This eel is the Anfruille plat-bee of Cuvier, 'IWgne An.,' torn. ii. p. 349, who considers it as a distinct species. It is the Griu-eel also of Mrs. Bowdich's • British Freshwater Fishes,' No. 28, in which work the three eels already spoken of here are well figured ; and the species were considered by Cuvier as identi- cal with those of the 'Risgne Animal.' " If, then, this last be distinct from A. latirostris, we have four species of eels in the waters of our islands, and the same occur in those of France. With respect to the term Grij,' we may observe, that in most parts of England it is merely applied to any small eel, when not above nine or ten inches long, and of which from eight to ten are required to make up a pound weight. In their habits and manners these eels are very similar, and their flesh equally excellent. Eels inhabit ponds, rivers, and the brackish water at the mouths of rivers ; and further, they may be regarded as migratory fishes : in the autumn they make their way to the sea in vast numbers, as it is believed, for the purpose of depositing their spawn ; whether they ever return up the river again, is not very clear, but in spring myriads of minute eels not above three or four inches in length make their way from the brackish water, up the rivers, which they ascend, dispersing themselves as they proceed. These migrations have been observed m various rivers, as the Thames, Severn, Dee, &c. Some writers consider that the parent eels, as well as their countless fry, return from the brackish water of the estuary, and regain their haunts in the river. "In a tideway river," says Mr. Yarrell, "the descent of eels towards the brackish water takes place during the autumn, and various devices are employed in different streams to intercept them in their progress." Among these are frames of wood supporting wicker baskets or traps, which form very picturesque objects, and are common at various places along the Thames ; yet it is very clear that all the adult eels in tidal rivers do not descend to the estuar)-, for it is well known that thousands lie buried in the mud to the depth of twelve or sixteen inches, in a state of torpidity, and quantities are often taken in this condition by means of eel-speais. In Somersetshire, says Mr. Yarrell, "the peop.e know how to find the holes in the banks of rivers- in which eels are laid up, by the hoar-frost not lying over them, as it does elsewhere, and dig them out in heaps. The practice of searching for eels in cold weather is not confined to this country. Dr. Mitchell in his paper ' On the Fishes of New York,' published in the * Transactions ' of the Literary and Philosophical Society of that city, says, "In the winter eels lie concealed in the mud, and are taken in great numbers by spears." The torpidity of the eel is connected with a low degree of respiration ; and, as Dr. Marshall Hall has shown, with this low grade of respiration co-exist great muscular irritability, a low temperature, and great tenacity of life, together with the power of long sustaining the privation of air and food. These peculiarities are characteristic of these fishes, and, as Mr. Yar- rell observes, the muscular irritability of eels ac- counts for their resUess motions and agitation during thunder-storms, at which time hundreds, roused from their haunts, rush tumultuously, and are captured in various traps, which imprison all that enter. He adds also, that their power of enduring a low tem- perature is shown by the fact that eels exposed on the ground till frozen, then buried in the snow, and at the end of four days put into water, and so thawed, slowly discover signs of life, and soon perfectly re- cover. Now this power of bearing cold is at singular variance with the opinion that tliey are averse to a low temperature, and consequently that none exist in the rivers of Siberia, the Wolga, the Danube, or any of its tributary streams ; nav, more, that they are killed by cold or frost. Mr. Thompson, in ' Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,' March, 1841, says, " On the 6th, 7th, and 8ih of the present month, February, 1841, great quantities of this fish in a dead state floated down the river Lagan to the quays at Belfast. Here, upon these days, and along uie coast of the river within the tideway, collecting dead eels was quite an occupation at low water. Three examples sent me by my friend Edmund Getty. Esq., were the Common Eel (A. acutiros- tris, Yarr.). They were found dead, of all sizes, up to the largest." It appears that a piercing east wind, accompanied by a hard frost, prevailed ; and as at low water a great extent of mud-banks is uncovered, the eels there imbedded are supposed to have perished from the intense cold arising from the rapid evaporation occasioned by the bitter gale. In January, 1814, great quantities of eels in the same river met with a similar fate, an east wind prevailing, with an intense frost. In 1841, during the month of March, at the same time that the eels perished in the Lagan, multitudes of congers, vary- ing from a foot to hve or six feet in length, perished in the river Lee, about six miles below Cork. (See Mr. F. Jennings' report in the ' Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,' May, 1841.) We believe that other instances of a like nature are on record. With respect to the assertion that there are no eels in the Danube, it is not quite correct : there are none in the Lower Danube. Captain Widdring- ton, R.N., says, " During a recent tour in Germany, I was surprised to see eels put upon the table at Wurtzburg, which is high up the Mayn, and in a very cold country during winter ; I was subsequently informed that they are abundant at Hanau, lower down the same river, the waters of which must be at least as cold as those of the Danube. On ar- riving at Vienna, I mentioned the circumstance to Professor Heckel, who has the charge of the ichthyo- logical department, who informed me that great nupibers were brought to Vienna from Ulm, which is high up the river (Danube), but that they have never been seen lower down. Subsequent inquiry, and having ascertained .the very great pains which have been taken in investigating the natural history of the river, satisfied me that this account was true ; and that it is next to impossible they should not have been detected had they frequented the Lower Danube. The fish-market at Vienna is held on the river, the well-boats being moored to the shore, whence the inhabitants of that luxurious capital are supplied with the most delicious fish brought from all sides. These people informed me that they drew part of their supplies of eels from L'lm, but that the greater part came from Bohemia, consequently from the head-waters of the Elbe, which ought to be a still colder river than either the Rhine or Danube. This winter the thermometer was 19" at Vienna, whilst at Dresden I was told it fell to 24" Reaumur. " Now, assuming the case as I have stated, that the habitat of the genus is confined to tlie upper streams of the Danube, we have the fact that migration is not necessary to them, though it is certainly their habit in this country. It must be remembered that I Ulra is in a very cold country, being considerably higher than Vienna. There can be little doubt that the eels there hybernate in the mud, but why do they not remove to the more genial region, and to the admirable locality of the delta of that great river ? The reason I take to be the following — the waters of the Danube may be divided into three classes : first those of the Black Forest and that vicinity and those which fall into the river from the left towards Bohemia. These waters are more or less rich and fat, and of the description which affords the most abundant nutriment to fish, especially of the genus under consideration. Below Ulm, however, a change soon becomes visible : the great tri- butaries from the Alps begin to pour in, and soon alter the character of the water. These Alpine streams may be divided into two classes : — those which proceed at once from the gla- ciers and upper valleys without meeting with large lakes to filter and purify them, like the Rhine and Rhone; these waters are charged with the comminuted particles of the rocks over which they have passed, and are not only rapid, but have a peculiar strength and rawness, which, I consider, combined with the want of food, renders them un- inhabitable by the eel and many other sorts of fish ; even the trout are scarce and of bad quality, and the only good trout in the Alps are those from the lakes or the streams of the plains, where better nourishment is afforded to them. The second class of Alpine waters are those which have passed through and been purified by the lakes, from which they issue clear, softer, and warmer than those we have mentioned. Even these rivers are not favour- able to the propagation of fish in general, and 1 was surprised to find that in the country so elo- quently described by Sir H. Davy, and which I ex- pected to find teeming with fish, that it was scarce and dear, though full of the most beautiful lakes and rivers." (' Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,' Nov. 1841.) It is then, according to these views, from the vast influx of Alpine water, as the Inn, the Traun, the Sav£, and Drave, that the Lower Danube is unfitted for this fish, and not from the mere coldness of the river. In our own country it may be observed that few or no eels inhabit mountain streams and rivers. That eels breed in the fresh water of inland rivers and lakes, from which they are unable to visit the sea, is a point on which little doubt exists; indeed, Mr. Yarrell expressly states, that in the Mole, the Wey, and the Longford river, and in various large ponds, from which there is no possible egress, the eel does not deposit its spawn till near the end of April, while in eels from the brackish water of higher temperature the breeding season takes place much earlier. Eels often quit the water, and wander during warm dewy nights on the grass, either in quest of worms, frogs, and other food, or in order to change 1 their locality; hence they often travel from rivers into adjacent ponds, where the fry of other fishes are thinned by their rapacity. On one occasion we ourselves saw three or four eels on the banks of the Severn, near Bewdley: it was dusk, the weather WM warm, and the grass wet with dew ; several small ]>ools close by seemed at U^e same time alive with eels. The passage of the shoaU of young eels up the Thames in spring, which is continued for several days, is called Ed/are, the Saxon word fare signi- fying to travel (as in wayfare, seaf^inns;, thorough- tare), and Mr. Yarrell thinks that the term Eiver, applied along the Severn to a young eel, is a cor- ruption of Eel/are. The London market is princi- pally supplied with eels from Holland by Dutch fishermen. The vessels are built with capacious wells for their preservation alive, and each brings a cargo of fifteen or twenty thousand pounds' weight of live eels, for which the Dutch merchant pays a duty of 13/. per cargo for permission to sell. The eel is among the fishes of the South Sea Islands. Ellis, in his ' Polynesian Researches,' vol. ii. p. 286, says : — " In Otaheite eels are great favourites, and are tamed and fed until they attain an enormous size. These pets are kept in large holes, two or three feet deep, partially filled with water. On the sides of these pits they generally remained, except- ing when called by the person who fed them. I have been several times with the young chief, when he has sat down by the side of the hole, and by giving a shrill sort of whi.stle has brought out an enormous eel, which has moved about the surface of the water, and eaten with confidence out of its master's hand." Fig. 2493 represents a view of the Thames at Eton ; in the whole of this part of the river, from Hampton up to Reading, and beyond, this fish is very abundant. Fig. 2494 represents a fish-basket, better adapted for large fish than those in common use. It contains a fine Thames trout. SECTION LOPHOBRANCHII. The fishes of this group are distinguis)ied by hav- ing the branchiae, or gills, divided into little tufts of a rounded form, disposed in pairs along the branchial arcs, instead of exhibiting a pectinated structure as in the previous fishes. They are concealed under a large operculum or flap attached around its margin by means of a membrane, leaving only a small aperture for the exit of the water, and exhibiting in its structure merely slight traces of rays. The fish of this group, besides, have the body cuirassed from one extremity to the other by scutcheons, which render it angular. The swimming-bladder is of tolerable size, but of thin tissue. Family SYNGNATHID^ (PIPE-FISHES). 2495. — ^The Deep-nosed Pipe-fish (Si/ngnathus Typhle). In the genus Syngnafhus the body is elongated, slender, cuirassed with plates in parallel lines; the head is long, the jaws are produced, united, and tubular; there are no ventral fins. In two species, the great pipe-fish and the deep-nosed pipe-fish, the males have an elongated pouch under the tail, closed by two folding mem- branes. These two fishes (which have doi-sal, pec- toral, and caudal fins, and a posterior one below, while the other species have only a dorsal fin) are common on many parts of our coast, sometimes appearing among sea-weed in low water, at other times seeking the deep-water : they " move slowly, about in a singular manner, horizontally or perpen- dicularly, with the heads downwards or upvv'aids, and in every attitude of contortion, in search of food, which chiefly seems to be water insects." One portion of their history is very remarkable : the male receives the roe of the female in the sub- caudal pouch referred to, and here the eggs, which are large and yellow, lie in hemispherical depres- sions until ■hatched, when the young make their escape. But at what time or in what manner the eggs are transferred to this receptacle appears to be not as yet ascertained. Mr. Yarrell observes, " M. Risso notices the great attachment of the adult pipe-fish to their young ; and this pouch pro- bably serves as a place of shelter to which the young ones retreat in case of danger. I have been assured by fishermen that if the young were shaken out of the pouch into the water over the side of the boat, they did not swim away, but when the parent fish was held in the water in a favourable position, the young would again enter the pouch." The mouth in these fishes is small, placed at the ex- tremity of the tubular snout, and opening obliquely upwards. In the deep-nosed pipe-fish the tulje is much deeper than in the great pipe-fish, and more coiiipressed at the sides. To the present family belong those extraordinary fishes, the Hippocampi". Rays and Skate.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 175 SECTION PLECTOGNATHI. In the imperfect structure of their jaws, and the slow ossification of the skeleton, these fish approach the cartilaginous series. Their principal character consists in the solid attachment of the maxillary bone on the side of the intermaxillary, which forms alone the jaw ; the palatal bones unite with the skull by means of a suture, and consequently are destitute of mobility. The gill-flaps and rays are concealed under a thick skin, which gives exit to the water only through a small orifice. There are only trifling vestiges of ribs ; ventral fins are wanting; the swimming-bladder is generally con- siderable. Family GYMNODONTID^ (GLOBE-FISHES, SUN-FISHES, DIODONS, &c.). The jaws, instead of being furnished with ordinary teeth, are garnished with an ivory substance, divided into series of laminae, the whole resetnbling a par- rot's beak; this beak really consists of true teeth united together, succeeding each other, in propor- tion as the anterior teeth or laminae are worn by . trituration. These fishes live on Crustacea and sea- weed, and their flesh is generally musky, and even unwholesome. Some, as the tetraodons and dio- dons, are capable of inflating themselves into a spherical form, and thus distended they float with the back downwards, and make progress by the aid of the pectoral fins. The sun fishes seem ca- pable of floating, but not of distending themselves with air. 2496.— The Short Sun-fish (Orthagoriscus mola). In these flat discoid fishes the dorsal and posterior fin below are united to a deep caudal fin, of which they seem to be two long wing-like points. The short sun-fish is sometimes seen floating in our seas, with little motion, appearing, as it lies on one side, like a fish dead or dying. It attains to a great size, upwards of four feet in length, and more than three hundred pounds in weight. Mr. Neill says, respecting one brought to him, — "The fisherman informed him that when they observed it, it was swimming along sideways, with its back fin fre- quently above water ; it seemed to be a stupid dull fish, and made little or no attempt to escape, but allowed one of the sailors to put his hands under it and lift it fairly into the boat. The sun-fish is gene- rally mentioned as remarkable for its phospho- rescence ; but this specimen did not exhibit that phenomenon so distinctly as a haddock or herring." The sun-fish, according to Mr. Couch, is migratory, and, he suspects, keeps at the bottom feeding on sea-weed ; but in calm weather it mounts to the surface, and lies, perhaps asleep, with its head and even its eyes above the water, floating with the tide. Mr. Couch has known the sun-fish make powerful but awkward efforts to escape when at- tacked, bending and directing its motions in various ways. (See Yarrell.) CHONDROPTERYGII (CARTILA- GINOUS FISHES.) In these fishes with a cartilaginous skeleton, the maxillary and intermaxillary bones are reduced to a mere rudiment, and their functions are filled by bones analogous to the palatal, and even sometimes by the vomer. They are divided into two sections : those with the branchiae free, covered with gill- flaps ; and those with the branchise fixed by their outer edge, the water escaping by five or more branchial apertures pierced in the skin. To the first division belongs the Sturgeon ; to the second, the Sharks and Rays. Family STURIONID^ (STURGEONS). 2497. — ^Thk Beluga Sturgeon (Acipemer huso). In the genus Acipenser the body is elongated and angular, defended by indurated plates and spines arranged in longitudinal rows; snout pointed and conical ; mouth placed on the under surface of the head, tubular, and without teeth. The species of the genus Acipenser are very nu- merous; seven species appear up the Danube, different from the ordinary sturgeon (A Sturio), which IS caught, often of large size (from six to eight feet and upwards in length, and two or three hundred pounds in weight), around our coast and in our estuaries. Along the northern coasts of Europe the common sturgeon is very abundant, and extensive fisheries are established for its destruction Caviar is made from the roe of the female ; isinglass from the thick air-bladder ; and the flesh, besides being highly esteemed while fresh for the table, is preserved by salting and pickling. In the Caspian Sea there is a huge species called Le Hansen, Great Sturgeon, and by some Beluga* Sturgeon, which often measures fifteen and some- times twenty feet in length, and individuals weigh- ing from one thousand to fifteen hundred pounds weight are not unfrequently taken. An extensive fishery is established for the purpose of capturing these fish for the sake of the roe and the air-blad- der, and as many as 103,500 are said to be taken in the course of a year, aff'ording 30,000 pounds of isinglass, and 414,000 pounds of caviar. The fishery is kept up during the winter, holes being made in the ice for the introduction of the ropes and lines. The principal fishing, however, commences about the end of March or beginning of April, when the great sturgeons approach the shore in immense swarms ; they are caught by means of lines, each about nine feet long, with a baited hook, and fas- tened to the number of 125 to a rope 262 feet in length. This rope, with its lines, is called a nest, and thirty of these nests tied together commonly belong to one fishing-machine ; the two ends of this are se- cured to two wooden anchors, and a stone of several pounds weight divides each nest. The rope, stretched out from point to point, floats heavily in the water, and is visited twice a day, and the lines tied ; the fish attached to the hooks are secured by a cord passed through their gills, and drawn ashore. This work lasts about a fortnight, when, on the retreat of the great sturgeons to the deep water, a smaller species takes their place ; it is termed the Sevruga (A. helops, Pall.), and seldom exceeds four feet, but sometimes attains to eight or ten, and is so nu- merous, that a single vessel will in the course of a fortnight capture 16,000 or 20,000. In the autumn there is a second fishery of the great sturgeon, and, as we have said, it is kept up on the ice during the winter. The value of the dif- ferent sorts of sturgeons and their products, caught in the Caspian in an ordinary year, is said to amount to 300,000/. Of the skins of old and large fish a sort of leather is made, and those of the young are used in some parts of Russia and Tartary instead of window-glass. But we must pass to our second division. Family SQUALID^ (SHARKS, DOG-FISH, &c.). 2498. — The Small-spotted Dog-fish (Sq/llium Caniculd). In a sketch like the present want of space precludes our entering into all the structural details of the present family, or into the grounds upon which the many genera are founded. For daring, voracity, and rapidity, these fishes have been long notorious. Of the sharks which frequent our seas the small- spotted dog-fish is one of the most common, and few I have visited the shore who have not observed its flat oblong eggs with a long tendril from each corner, called sea-purses, thrown upon the beach or cling- ing to the ponds of sea-weed. It may be here observed that many of the true sharks are ovovivi- parous, producing their young alive, while others produce eggs in the form of horny cases, with two fissures, one at each end, for the admission of sea-water and the exit of the young. Among the sharks the females exceed the males in size ; they hunt in company, are very tenacious of life, and their teeth are severe weapons, formed for cutting and retaining their prey. On our southern coast especially the present spe- cies (of small size) is very abundant, and annoying to the fishermen, who often capture it in their nets, and draw up a useless booty ; it is, moreover, in- jurious to the interests of the fishermen from its voracity, making terrible havoc amongst the shoals which migrate towards the coast. The same obser- vation applies to the other species of dog-fish and sharks which frequent our seas. Of these the following are described by Mr. Yarrell :— The Large-spotted Dog-fish (Scyllium ca- tulus), le Rochier of the French ; the Black-mouthed Dog-fish (Scyllium melanostomum), rare on our coast, but well known in the Mediterranean ; the White Shark (Carcharias vulgaris), le Requin of the French, a large and dangerous fish, occasionally met with on the British coast, more common in the Mediterranean, and the dread of mariners in the seas of warmer latitudes, where it will follow the vessel for leagues, and is often taken by a baited hook. The Fox-Shark, or Thresher (Carcharias vulpes), remarkable for the length of the upper portion of the tail-fin ; it measures from eight or * The true Beluga is a species of porpoise or dolphin (D, leucas, I Gm.), in the northern seas, j ten to fifteen feet in length, and has received the name of Thresher from its mode of defending itself by violently lashing with its powerful tail. It is not common near our shores, but is frequent in the Mediterranean and the warmer seas. The blue Shark (Carchaiias glaucus), a migratory visitor to the coast of Cornwall, arriving about the middle or latter part of June, and detested by the fishermen for the devastation it commits among the shoals of pilchards, &c., and the injury it does to the nets, which it cuts to pieces with its teeth as an easy means of extricating the fish entangled in the meshes, swallowing both fish and string together. The Porbeagle (Lamna Cornubica), a species more common on the north and north-east coast of our island, especially in autumn, than along our southern shores. It appears to be gregarious, hunting its prey in small troops. The Beaumaris Shark rLamna Monensis), rare on our shores, two specimens only having been taken on the Anglesey side of the Menai. The Tope or Penny Dog (Galeus vulgaris), a common species on the southern coast and along the shores of Cornwall, attaining to six feet in length, and noted for its rapacity. The Smooth Hound (Muotelus laevis), a species in tolerable abundance round our coast, and used in the Hebrides as food. It is TEmissole of the French. Its food consists of Crustacea, which its flat teeth, arranged like the pieces of a mosaic pavement, are well adapted for crushing. The Basking Shark (Selachus maximus), so called from its habit of basking quietly on the surface of the sea in sunny weather, when it is so listless as often to allow of the close approach of a boat : it is seen principally off our southern coast, and one measuring thirty-six feet in length was taken some years since near Brighton. The Picked Dog-fish (Spinax Acanthias), a common species, with a sharp spine before each dorsal fin, used as eff'ective weapons of, defence. It is very annoying to fishermen, and is gregarious in its habits. The Greenland Shark (Scymnusborealis), a native of the northern seas, but occa.sionally visiting the shores of Scotland. It measures from ten to fifteen feet in length, and is celebrated as being one of the deadly- foes of the whale. Family RAIID^ (RAYS AND SKATE), 2499.— The Thoknback . {Raia clavata). The Rays or Skate are of a de- pressed figure, having the disc rhomboidal, the great breadth of the body being produced by the singular expansion of the pectoral fins. There is no distinct head; the tail is long and slender, and furnished with two dorsal or upper fins, and sometimes with the vestige of a caudal. The mouth and branchial orifices are on the under surface. The texture of the skin varies; in some it is rasp-like, in others studded with tubercles or spines, with which latter the tail is always armed. These fishes, some of which attain to enormous dimensions, are admirably adapted by their form for existing at the bottom of the water on beds of sand or mud. When disturbed they slide along in an undulatory manner, and with a slight motion of the pectoral fins. They defend themselves by lashing violently with the tail. The Rays are very voracious, feeding on fishes and Crus- tacea together with shelled or naked mollusks. Their teeth are flattened and lozenge-shaped, and set in close array ; but in adult males the posterior angles of the teeth become elongated (at least in most species), forming a serried phalanx of points directed backwards. So powerful are the jaws, that they are capable of crushing the shell of a crab with the greatest ease. At the base of each ventral fin posteriorly and beneath is a cylindrical appendage, peculiar only to the male. The females exceed the males in size ; their eggs are corneous, and closely resemble those of the dog-fish. The thornback is very common on our coasts, and is taken in abundance for the table in spring and summer, when it visits the shallows. Its flesh, how- ever, is in the best condition in November. The female is known under the term of " Maid." The skin is covered with thorny tubercles, variable in number. Fig. 2500 represents a fisherman of South Wales with his coracle, or portable boat of hide or pitched canvas stretched over slight ribs of wood. In this frail bark he fearlessly ventures on the waters of the Severn or the Wye : such were the boats of the painted Britons in the time of Caesar. Fig. 2501 represents ancient Egyptians capturing fish with a drag-net. Fig. 2502, Egyptians angling. Both are taken from a tomb at Beni-Hassan: they illustrate the mode in which fish were taken in the Nile at a remote period. Figs. 2503, 2504, 2ii05, are dehneations of AraJ? fishermen of the present day. END OF THE CLASS PISCES (FISHES). 3IM.— Sirin-ipott:'l').— OiTiciiul Cvula-bh. S3 ; (S.— lUnlu'i Onycboteuthii. S3 15. — Uou<{h Crauchia. 25:8 — Corr.mon Calaqiary. S-Sl — Hliell of P««rly Nautilus. «5»«.— Shell of UmblUcated NantUm.', tSM.— NtatUiu, fmm Denyi i» Montfwd. t9S3,— Kantilus, from K'.iumphius. 180 ■■i -«.— Mniuli:,]ej of Nautilii BJSO.—Wi.le-moulhed Bellerophon. 853I._Sli(.ll of Argonaut, Si-iaa. - Sliell ,.lT.i!'fr,-,.i,)ui Arsoimut. 252T.— Strncture of NautUui. 181 182 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Nautilus. a point, and united to the end of the mantle ; anterior margin of the mantle free. Horny hoops of the acetabula denticulated. Gladius (a) long and narrow. Pennant, under the name of Sopia media, describes this species, which is the common calaniary or Pen- fish (the latter name being derived from the form of its transparent gladius or support), us having an almost transparent botly (which is green but con- vertible into a dirty brown, confirming the remark of Pliny, that they change their colour, adapting it, chameleon-like, to that of the place they are m), and large smaragdine eyes. It is common upon our coasts. This species is rapid in its movements, and can take leaps analogous to flights, like the flying-fish ; an allied species indeed has received the specific appellation of Sagitta (arrow) from the rapidity of its sweeping movements. Mr. r. D. Bennett, who describes the sea as peculiarly animated between the latitudes 28° and 3P N., and the longitudes 1W= and 160° W., ob- serves that the ship was constantly attended by such vast numbers of the albacore, that, when swimming, as is their custom, on the surface of the water, they could be seen as a dense shoal extending several hundred yards on every side of the ship, about which sword fishes (Xiphias) frequently came, " making destructive onslaughts" on the albacore. More rarely he noticed the barracuda, and transient shoals of bonita. " Flying fish and (nearly allied to these in their movements) flying-squid (Loligo) were also numerous. During a calm in lat. SU'^ N., the flying-squid appeared in larger flights than we had ever before witnessed ; persecuted probably by the albacore (which selects this tranquil time to descend deep in the water, and to rove far from the ship in quest of food), they rose from the sea in large flocks, leaping over its smooth surface, much in the same manner, and to the same height and distance as the flying-fish. Many of them were captured by birds during their leaps ; and one indi- vidual in making a desperate effort to escape some aquatic pursuer, sprang to a considerable height above the bulwarks of the ship, and fell with vio^ lence upon the deck." One kind of Loligo, captured in the Pacific Ocean, in lat. 34° N., which measured six inches in its entire length, must from the description of its hooks, have been anonychoteuthis. This individual leaped from the sea over the high bulwarks of the ship, and alighted on the deck at a time when vast flocks of the same species were seen leaping around, and often striking with violence against the bows of the vessel, the sea being comparatively smooth. It was much injured by the violence with which it struck the deck. Another species, with its tsvo long tentacles furnished at the extremities with rows of stickers (acetabula) instead of horny hooked appen- dages, resembling the above in size and form, was obtained in the Pacific. The prevailing colours were silver-white and steel-blue, spread with red spots and tints of violet and purple, a brilliant and very beautiful spot of emerald-green being placed imme- diately above each eye. Mr. Bennett concludes by stating that they noticed examples of this family of Cephalopoda from the equator to lats. 34" N. and 16° S. in the Pacific Ocean. 2519. — The Officinal Cuttle-fish {Sepia officinalis). In the genus Sepia the body is oblong, and depressed with two narrow lateral ins extending its whole length ; mantle free at its anterior margin ; sucker supported by horny loops, with the margin entire or very minutely denticulated. The internal suppoit is calcareous, laminated, the laminee supported by columns; it has an internal horny layer, corresponding to the anterior horny sheath in the Belemnites. The ofiicinal cuttle-fish is about a foot in length, and is common in the European seas. Its skin is smooth, whitish, and spotted with brown. The empty eggs of the cuttle- fish in clusters are often thrown upon the beach ; b is the disc of one of the suckers of this species ; c, that of Eledone. Fig. 2520, the internal shell of Sepia officinalis : a, the back view ; b, the side view ; c, the under side. We may now pass to the testaceous cephalo- pods ; and of these we shall first turn our attention to the Nautilus. 2521.— The Pearly Nautilus {Nautilus Pompilius). The shell. 2522. — The Umbilicatkd Nactilus {Nautilus scrobiculatus). The shell.' Though known to the ancients and described by Aristotle, it is only recently that the structure of the nautilus has been demonstrated ; it is to Professor Owen, whose labours in the field of science are beyond praise, that we owe our knowledge of the organization of this singular being, which from the time of the father of Natural History to the present had remained uninvestigated. That Aristotle was acquainted with the nautilus is very clear : after well describing the naked cephalopods (jiaXama) he says: — "There are also two polypi in shells; one IS called by some nautilus, and by others nautirus. It is like the polypus, but its shell re- sembles a hollow comb or pecten, and is not attached. This polypus ordinarily feeds near the sea-shore ; sometimes it is thrown by the waves on the dry land, and the shell falling from it, is caught, and there dies."' "Tlie other is in a shell like a snail, and this does not go out of its shell, but remains in it like a snail, and sometimes stretches forth its cirrhi (irXmravac )* externally. The first of these animals is evidently the Argonaut, or Paper Nautilus, the latter the true Nautilus. Kumphius, in 1705, gave a figure and description of the Nautilus, but the figure (Fig. 2523), which is intended to represent the animal disengaged from the shell, is indefinite, and its details botti erroneous and confused. Denys" de Montford, in 'Hist. Nat. des Moll.' (suite au Buffon de Sonnini, Paris, 1802), gives a pretended and most absurd figure of the nautilus, which has been copied by Shaw, and which is below notice (see Fig. 2.524). The specimen which was dissected by Pro- fessor Owen was a female, and was captured by G. Bennett, Esq. F.L.S., who thus describes the occurrence. "It was on the 24th of August, 1829, (calm and fine weather, thermometer at noon 79"), in the evening, when the ship Sophia was lying at anchor in Marakini Bay, on the south-west side of the island of Erromanga, one of the New Hebrides group. Southern Pacific Ocean, that something was seen floating on the surface of the water at some distance from the ship ; to many it appeared like a small dead tortoiseshell cat, which would have been such an unusual object to be seen in this part of the world, that the boat which was alongside the ship at the time was sent for the purpose of ascer- taining the nature of the floating object. On ap- proaching near it was observed to be the shell-fish commonly known by the name of the Pearly Nautilus "(Nautilus Pompilius) ; it was captured and brought on board, but the shell was shattered, from having been struck by the boat-hook in capturing it, as the animal was sinking when the boat ap- proached, and had it not been so damaged it would have escaped. I extracted the fish in a perfect state, which was firmly attached to each side of the upper cavity of the shell. On being brought on board, I observed it retract the tenta- cula still closer than before, and this was the only sensation of vitality it gave after being caught ; I preserved the soft parts immediately in spirits, after making a rude pen-and-ink sketch of its form. On breaking the lower part of the shell, the chambers or cavities were found tilled with water. The hood has been stated by Dr. Shaw (Lectures, vol. ii. p. 165) as being of a'pale reddish purple colour, with deeper spots and variegations ; the colour however, as it appeared in this recent specimen, was of a dark reddish brown, in fact resembling the colour produced by the Koka on the stained cloth of the Tongatabu natives, intermingled with white. We had fine weather; light winds and calms a day or two previous to this animal being caught." After noticing the incorrectness of Shaw's figure (which, as we have above observed, was copied from those given by Denys de Montford), and the greater general accuracy of that of Rumphius, Mr. Bennett informs us that this species is called Kika, Lapia, and Krang Modang by the natives of Amboyna; and Bia papeda, Bia cojin by the Malays. He then adverts to another instance of the capture of this animal, by an officer of H.M.S. Ariadne, on a reef at the Island of Pemba, near Zanzibar, on the east coast of Africa, in 1824. The animal was not floating npon the water, but was in a hole on the reef, and the officer did not recollect which part of the shell was uppermost. The mantle, like a thin membrane, covered the shell, and was drawn in as soon as it was touched, when the shell was displayed. " I aiid others," said this officer to Mr. Bennett, " when it was first seen did not notice it, regarding Ihe animal, as the membrane enveloped the shell, merely as a piece of blubber; but having touched it by accident, the membranous covering was with- drawn, and we soon secured our beautiful prize. The fish was a large mass attached to the shell, which we soon extracted and threw away, as we only wanted to collect shells." The same officer compared the mantle to what he had subsequently seen covering the shells of the Harps (Entomo- stomata), and cowries (Cyprseidse). Mr. Bennett states that a section of the shell captured by him was afterwards made on board, but none of the ap- pearances, nor whether air or water was contained within, could be recollected. A mate of a whaler, • TlXtKTainj. undosus ilammnrum vertex — the HnduUting point of a flame, which the aims or the nautilus much zcaemble when taken collectively. who had been shipwrecked upon the Feejee Islands in the South Pacific, and had resided among that group for nearly three years, told Mr. Bennett that he had seen the shell of the Peariy Nautilus, con- taining the living animal, floating on the water near one of the islands. He had only seen two living, although the empty shells were very numerous among the islands. The first he saw when in a canoe with some other shipwrecked Europeans ; it was then floating on the surface of the water with the mouth of the shell uppermost. It was enveloped in the mantle, which extended some distance up- wards and over the whole of the shell ; and it had such an appearance as to cause one of the men to say, " There is a large piece of blubber upon the water." On approaching it the animal, retracting the mantle, displayed the beautiful striped shell, and sank before they could capture it. (G. Bennett, Wanderings, vol. ii.) With respect to the general form of this animal, a reference to Fig. 2525 will convey a better idea than words ; a section of the shell in outline is given, showing the siphon, t i; the chambers of the camerated shell, x x; the septal tubes, which give passage to the membranous siphon : and the cham- ber of occupation, z. We may here observe that from a series of twenty processes or digitations on each side of the heatl, arise the true tentacula or arms, which _ are round, tapering and annulated , indeed each of the processes is hollow, and con- stitutes a sheath, into which the arm attached to it may be completely withdrawn. Besides these there are labial processes, and laminated appendages at the entrance of the mouth abundantly supplied with nerves. There are no organs of hearing. Fig. 2526 represents the nautilus and part of the shell in outline, explanatory of its structure. a a, the mantle ; b, its dorsal fold applied to the involute convexity of the shell ; c, its free anterior margin ; d, the orifice for the passage of the funnel ; e, the convexity produced by the ovarian gland ; //, the horny girdle for the adhesion of the mantle to the shell ; g, the horny laminae covering the ex- tremity of the lelt shell muscle ; h, a portion of the shell, which was left adhering to this muscle; i, the membranous tube or siphon, which traverses the testaceous tubes in the camerated portion of the shell ; k, the funnel ; /, the left lateral process of the funnel ; m, the left crus, or pillar of the funnel ; 71, the hood, or ligamento-muscular disc that sur- mounts the head; o o, the exterior digitations on the left side ; o', the larger one, with a papillose surface like that of the hood ; p, the digitated tentacles, protruded from their sheaths ; q, the groove which separates the hood from the papillose digitation; r r, the ophthalmic receptacles; s, the eye ; t, its peduncle ; u, the inferior ridge or rudi- mentary eyelid ; v, the ridge running from this to tc, the pupil; xxx, the partitions of the chambers; yyy, the septal tubes, which give passage to the membranous siphon ; z, the chamber of occupation. (Owen.) Fig. 2527 represents the nautilus removed from its shell, in a prone position, with the labial processes and tentacles, the mandibles and the digestive organs displayed. a a, the hood, or upper part of the oval sheath longitudinally divided ; b b, the posterior lobes or angles of the hood ; c c, the posterior concavity of the hood; dd,\\\e ridge in the same; e e, the cut surfaces of the above parts ; ff, the internal surface of the oval sheath ; y g, the external labial pro- cesses ; h /i, the external labial tentacles ; i i, the internal labial processes ; k k, the internal labial tentacles; /, the olfactory laminae ; »i m. the circular fringed lip, longitudinally divided ; n, the superior mandible ; o, the inferior mandible ; p, the muscular basis on which the mandibles are fixed ; g q, tlie superior pair of muscles which retract the jaws ; r r, the semicircular muscle which protrudes the jaws, divided longitudinally ; s, the oesophagus ; t, the crop ; «, the narrow canal leading to v, the gizzard ; w, the intestine ; w', the terminal fold of intestine drawn out of its situation ; x, the ejective orifice ; y, the laminated pancreatic bag; z, the liver; 15, a branch of the anterior aorta, which ramifies in the membrane connecting the two portions of the terminal fold of the intestine ; 19, the continuation of the posterior aorta along the dorsal aspect of the crop ; 20, its bifurcation at the oesophagus, to form a vascular circle corresponding to the nervous circle round that tube ; 21 and 22, arteries of the crop, gizzard, &c. (Owen.) The extent to which the nautilus is covered by its shell, and its close attachment to it. caused Aristotle to compare it to a snail ; and, says Professor Owen, "the general resemblance must be .suffi- ciently striking when, with his house above him and in the supine position, he makes his way along the sand h ith a moderate degree of rapidity." This indeed seems to be the animal's habitual mode of progression ; yet it not unfrequently rises to the surface and floats, but the navigation is " in all pro- Argonaut.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 183 bability of a passive kind, or influenced only by the action of the respiring currents, when expelled by the funnel, through the surrounding medium; and at all events it can no longer be supposed to have been aided by the fabled sails and oars of the argonaut." The mode of sailing with outspread tentacles is described by Rumphius, who says that in fine weather, alter a storm, they are seen in troops thus navigating the seas, like a fleet of pigmy vessels, and that as soon as they wish, they take in their tentacles, upset their boat, and so return to the bottom. We may here observe, that the tube or siphuncle prolonged through the compartments of the ca- merated shell of the nautilus is continued from the great venous cavity or pericardium, which freely communicates with the branchial cavities, and which, receiving the water from these cavities, can thus by its contraction transmit it through the siphuncle into the chambers of the shell. These chambers naturally contain air, or some gaseous element, and being thus filled with a fluid more buoyant tlian water, endow the animal with the means of floating, notwithstanding the density of the shell itself. Now, when the animal wishes to sink, it forces water through the tube, thereby com- pressing the air, and thus it immediately becomes heavier than the surrounding medium. It would appear that the retraction of the head and tentacles into the shell involves the contraction of the peri- cardium, and consequently the forcing of water through the tube ; while the protrusion of the head and tentacles, by relieving the pericardium from pressure, permits it to expand, when the air of the chambers necessarily drives back the water, and the buoyancy of the animal returns accordingly. Surely no comments are needed to enforce upon the mind a perception of the beauty and fitness of such a contrivance, a contrivance which enables the pearly nautilus to float on the surfiiee of the deep, luxuriating in the light and warmth of the sun ; and then in a moment, when danger threatens, to sink to the bottom, and there find a harbour of security. Fig. 2528 represents the mandibles of the nau- tilus. A, mandibles of Nautilus Pompilius: a, cal- careous extremity of upper mandible ; b, extended internal horny laminae of the same ; c, notched calcareous extremity of lower mandible ; d d, ex- ternal horny laminae of the same. B, upper man- dible, showing the form of the calcareous extremity, and the proportions of the external and internal horny laminae. C, one-half of the lower mandible, showing the different proportions of the two horny laminae, and the extension of the horny substance at a, upon which the calcareous matter is deposited ; a', the internal horny lamina ; b, the external horny lamina. Nat. size. (Owen.) Fig. 2529 represents a series of Rhyncholite?, or the fossil beaks of nautili from the oolite (Stones- field), and the lias of Lyme Regis, &c. They were formerly mistaken for the beaks of birds, o, side view (muschelkalk of Luneville) ; b, upper view (same locality) : c, upper view (lias of Lyme Regis) ; ■«f, calcareous point of an under mandible, internal view, from Luneville. (Buckland.) 2530. — The Wide-mouthed Bellerophon {Bellerophon hiidcus). A fossil shell, which, though heavier and thicker than the shell of the Argonaut, in one of an allied cephalopod ; it is unilocular. It occurs in the mountain-limestone ! formation ; and is figured in the late Mr. Martin's ' Petrificata Derbiensia,' T. x!., i. 2 (1809). The form and situ- ation of the dissepiments, he says, are unknown ; they have been since proved not to exist. We shall now pass to the Argonaut 253L — The Argonaut {Argonauta Argo). The shell ; a, shell of young. 2532. — The Tuberculous Argon.^ut {Argonattta Argo). The shell j a, a, shell of young in two views. The Argonaut or Paper Nautilus has been ever regarded with interest, and conflicting in the ex- treme have been the opinions respecting the tenant ■of the shell, some believing that the real fabricator of this beautiful structure would be ultimately found to be a gasteropodous mollusk, allied to Carinaria (the shell of which is very like that of Argonauta), others contending that the animal usually found in it, always indeed (and the fact has been observed from the earliest periods), where any inhabitant is taken with the shell, viz., a cephalo- pod, is not only its tenant, but its fabricator, and therefore not a usurper. And still further : — With respect to the form and habits of this cephalopod, the tenant of the shell, the most extravagant ideas have prevailed. Mont- gomery, in his ' Pelican Island,' thus describes it, in accordance with the accounts promulgated by Jiaturalists : — > *' Liijht as a flake of foam upon tlie wind. Keel upwards, from the deep emerired a shell, .Shap'd like the moon ere half her orb is filled. Frausjht with yoiin^ life, itri),'hted as it rose, And moved at will alons; the yielding water. The native pilot of this little bark Put out H tier of oars on either side. Spread to the wafting breeze a two-fold sail, And mounted up and glided down tlie ()illo\v In happy freedom, pleased to feel the air, And wander in the luxury of li^ht." Since the days of Aristotle, the history of the argonaut has been enveloped in a tissue of mis- conceptions and difficulties. The argonaut has been a centre round which theories and speculations and poetry have revolved, but upon which the scru- tiny of rigid and persevering research seemed never to be brought to bear. It is indeed only recently that the cloud of doubts and errors which hung around this tenant of the sea has been dissipated ; and it is principally to the observations and ex- periments of Madame Jeannette Power, a French lady residing in Sicily, that the true nature and history of the argonaut, so abundant in the Medi- terranean, have been cleared up. The results of her researches, with collections of specimens in illustration of them, have been transmitted by her to the different scientific societies of England, France, and Italy ; and Professor Owen and M. Rang have contributed their labours in the eluci- dation of many points of difficulty and interest. By way of condensing the matter, it may be stated, in the first place, that naturalists have doubted as to the claim of the cephalopod to the shell it is found, and ever has been found, to inhabit, and arguments have been adduced to prove, that, like the hermit crab (Pagurus), it had usurped the shell of another, either during the life, or after the death of its lawful proprietor, — a proprietor which ever remained to be discovered. M. Blainville in France, and many zoologists of rank in this country, adopted this opinion. In the second place, it has been an established opinion that the velated dorsal arms were used as sails to catch the breeze, and that as it floated over the tranquil waters of the sea, or the rippling waves, it was thus wafted onwards. Now, with reference to the lawful occupation of the shell, it is incontestably proved that the cephalopod in question is the maker of it, and con- sequently not a usurper of another's right. Speci- mens in every stage of growth, from young indivi- duals whose shell weighed only a grain and a half up to those of the ordinary size, have been sent to England, and accurately examined by Professor Owen, to whose observations we shall presently allude. Again, it was found by Madame Power (the fact has been subsequently corroborated), that the shell of the argonaut, while investing the living animal, is not hard as it appears in cabinets, but of a yielding and flexible consistence, with a degree of elasticity, which the mechanism of respiration and locomotion of the animal requires ; it is, moreover, diaphanous or permeable to light. It was also proved that while in the egg, the young argonaut, though otherwise in a high stage of development, had neither the membranous velated arms, nor any rudiment of shell ; but that both these arms and the shell became developed at a certain period after exclusion, viz., about the tenth or twelfth day. Another discovery was, that when the shell was fractured, or portions were removed, it was repaired (from the outside) with similar materials to that of the rest of the shell ; and that, moreover, the shell was really moulded on the body of the animal, to the form of which it is beautifully adapted, that the relative position of the animal with respect to the shell was invariably the same, and that if re- moved from the shell the animal speedily died. These facts were ably commented upon by Pro- fessor Owen, who in February, 1839, exhibited at a meeting of the Zool. Soc. specimens of the animal in question and its shell, of all sizes, shells fractured and repaired, and eggs in every stage of develop- ment, and who ably confuted the views of M. Blainville. Now, with respect to the velated dorsal arms, though Madame Power fell into the common error of supposing that they were used as sails, yet she describes them as "being placed next the invo- luted spire of the shell, over which they are bent, and expanded forwards, so as to cover and conceal the whole of the shell, and from which they are occasionally retracted in the living argonaut." During subsequent experiments she ascertained that these expanded organs are the actual producers of the shell, that to them it owes its original formation, and its preparation when injured ; and she justly compares these membranous expansions to the two lobes of the mantle of the cowry, reflected over its shell, and which they produce. "These facts," observes Professor Owen, " are the results of actual observation ; and the subsequent observa- tions of M. Rang have fully confirmed the accuracy of Madame Power's description of the relative posi- tion of the so-called sails of the argonaut to the shell ; and he has published some beautiful figures illustrative of this fact." Among other points noticed by Madame Power, in her memoir, was the great extensibility combined with the forcible pump-like action of the siphon, which emerges ficm the anterior edge of the mar- ginal opening of the shell, the dorsal surface of the animal's body being always next the involuted spire, or internal wall. "The proof," says Professor Owen, "that the velated arms possess, like the expansions of the mantle of the Cypraea, a calcifying power, was aftbrded by the third series of specimens on the table of the Society. These consisted of six shells of the argonaut, from which Madame Power had removed pieces of shell while the argonauts were in life and vigour, in her marine vivarium. One of the shells had been removed from the animal ten minutes after the fracture ; another argonaut had lived in the cage two months after being subjected to the experiments : the remaining specimens ex- hibited intervening periods between the removal of a portion of the shell and its reparation. The fractured shell first described had the breach re- paired by a thin transparent membranous film : the piece removed was taken from the middle of the keel. In a second specimen calcareous matter had been deposited at the margins of the membrane, where it was attached to the old shell. In a third specimen in which a portion of the shell had been removed from the keel, about two inches from the mouth of the shell, the whole breach had been repaired by a calcareous layer, differing only in its greater opacity and irregularity of form from the original shell. In the specimen longest retained after the fracture, a portion had been removed from the margin of the shell : here the new material next the broken edge presented the opacity cha- racteristic of the repairing substance, but the tran- sition of this substance into the material of the shell, subsequently added in the ordinary progress of growth, was so gradual, in the resumption in the repairing material of the ordinary clearness and striated structure of the shell, that it was im- possible to doubt but that the reparation as well as the subsequent growth had been effects of the same agent. The repaired parts of the shell re- acted precisely like the ordinary shell with nitric acid. Mr. Owen then observed, that the specimens submitted to the meeting by Madame Power pos- sessed in themselves the means of confirming or refuting her theory of the formative organs of the shell of the argonaut : for if the shell were secreted as in gastropods, &c., by the edge of the mantle covering the body, the new material by which the breaches of the shell had been repaired should have been deposited on the inside of the fractured edge ; but on the contrary, it was clearly obvious in two of the specimens, that the new material had been laid on upon the outside of the fractured part — as it must have been, supposing the vela or membranous arms to be the calcifying organs." For abundant details on the structure of the argonaut, we refer to the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc' for February, 1839 ; to which we have previously alluded. The following interesting account of th'e living animal and of its actions is from the paper by M. Ransr : — "The poulp, with its shell lying motionless at the bottom of the vase in which we had placed it, struck us at once by the brilliancy of its hues and their richness ; which our sketch is far from con- veying. It appeared little more than a shapeless mass, but it was a mass of silver with a cloud of spots of the most beautiful rose colour, and a fine dotting of the same, which heightened its beauty. A long semicircular band of ultra-marine blue, which melted away insensibly, was very decidedly marked at one of its extremities, that is, of the keel. The shell was nowhere visible, but with a little attention we could easily recognise its general form, and we could even distinguish some grooves on its surface as well as the tubercles of the keel. A i large membrane covered all ; and this membrane I was the expanded velation of the arms, which so \ peculiarly characterize the poulp of the argonaut. i The animal was so entirely shut up in its abode, that the head and the base of the arms only were a very little raised above the edges of the opening of the shell. On each side of the head a small space was left free, allowing the eyes of the mollusk some scope of vision around, and their sharp and fixed gaze appeared to announce that the animal was watching attentively all that passed around it. The slender arms were folded back from their base, and inserted very deeply round the body of the poulp, I in such a manner as to fill in part the empty spaces ! which the head must naturally leave in the much 1 larger opening of the shell. Of these six arms, the ! two lower ones descended on each side the whole length of the keel, leaving a space between them t»3».— Argoniut Swimmiiig. rr'T'i,.'.' /T} 2544. — Ammonite. «»S7.— Beaked Anunonite. 2536.— Shell ofAmmanita. lii^'ll— Ammonite. 2542. — Ammonite. 2 543.---A mmonit*. 184 2545.— Ammonite : Moutb perfect. ZHO.— DiiTal't'Crioceiatita. 2548.— Ammonite: Month itrperfect. 25W. - Section of Annnonite. Wu 255&.— Gibseo's GovAsOtc. 254C.— Ammonite : Momli p^fect. 2554.~Spu-CErbal Goniotite. 2552 — Triiiicate GoiiialJle. No. 74. Vol. it. 2BB1. 254:^— Ajnmonitec nodosns. 2U3.— Lister's Goniatite. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATUIiE.] 185 186 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ammonites. nrithin which we perceived the siphon with iu open extremity : while the other four arms were disposed, two on the right, and two on the lel^, in the middle part of the ooening of the shell, contracted and bent irregularly back. As to the higher arms, their dis- position was altogether different from that of the others. Prolongmg themselves towards the re- treating part of the spire, one on each side, they en- countered the keel by the tangent line ; and then, without quitting if, stretched out as far as its an- terior extremity, insinuating themselves between the tubercles, and in such a manner, that there remained in the medium line of the keel only a narrow space that was not covered. The mem- branous portion of these arms dilated beyond any thing we could have pictured to ourselves from a knowledge merely of the animal preserved in spirits of wine, and was spread over the two lateral sur- faces of the shell, in such a manner as to cover it completely from the extremity of the spire to the edge of the opening, and consequently of the keel. The application of these membranes was direct and without any puckerings or irregularity whatever ; the lower part of the two large arms being com- pletely stretched formed a kind of bridge over the cavity left between the back of the poulp and the retreating portion of the spire, in which the e.\- tremity of a cluster of eggs was floating." Some- times, however, the arms are somewhat retracted, drawing back the expansion, and leaving the anterior portion of the shell uncovered. In this condition It is represented at Fig. 2533, which represents the animal contracted within its shell, peeping above iu ed^e, and with the limbs folded down. The eggs are distinctly seen under the bridge made by the velated arms. "To return to the description of our poulp," says M. Rang, "which we left contracted within the ^rgonaut-shell, and watching with an attentive eye what took place around it, we saw it extending itself from out its shell, and protruding six of its arms; then it threw itself into violent motion, and travelled over the basin in all directions, often dashing itself against the sides. In these different movements the body leant a little towards the an- terior part of the shell ; and the long slender arms, very much extended and collected into a close bundle, were carried before it, as well as the tube, which showed itself open and protruded. The locomotion was eiFected in the ordinary manner of poulps, the movement being backwards by means of the contraction of the sac and the expulsion of water through the siphon*. The disposition of the animal and shell is the most favourable for accele- rating tlie motion of the creature. The lightness of the shell, — its narrow and keeled form, — its width, which is smallest at the part presented first for cleaving the water, — the membrane smoothing over all inequalities of the shell, — the bundle of arms ex- tending behind so as to offer the least possible re- sistance,— the two arms stretched like a bridge over the cavity where the eggs are, as if to throw off the water from that cavity ; — all these adaptations con- cur to facilitate the gliding of the animal through the medium in which it is to move." M. Rang thought that he perceived in the move- ments of the animal, when in open water, that it had its back uppermost, and consequently the tube below ; but he did not constantly see it so ; he ob- served it however with more certainty in specimens of poulps whose arms had been deprived of their membranes. The animal which they had been watching, as above described, fatigued by its efforts in a confined space, and perhaps injured by the shocks which it had sustained in coming in contact with the side of the basin, allowed itself to sink to the bottom, and half contracted itself in order to take repose ; soon after which it exhibited another and unexpected spectacle. Fixing some of the acetabula, or suckers, of its fore-arms upon the bottom of the basin, it erected itself straight upon its head, spreading out its disc, and carrying the shell above it in the ordinary manner of shelled gasteropods (snails) ; then beginning to crawl, it presented tne appearance of a pectinibranchiate mollusk. Half drawn back into its shell, the animal appeared to crawl upon its disc, the palmatures of which were a little raised, to follow the movements of its arms ; the body was hidden in the shell, the siphon placed in the an- terior part of it was turned forwards, the arms, which were at liberty, were very much protruded, and twisting round, two before, and two on each side ; the base of the two large velated arras seemed to prolong the locomotive surface backwards, and then, rising along the keel, they covered it with their large membranes as when the poulp was swimming in deep water. " Thus," continues M. Rang," this mollusk, at once pelagic and littoral, presents a most singular anomaly, when it swims at the surface of the water having its ventral part lowermost, and when it crawls along the bottom having it, on the contrary, uppermost ; two things, which are completely contrary to what we see among the marine mollusks on the one hand, and the littoral mollusks on the other." Fig. 2534 represents the Argonaut moving on its head at the bottom. Fig- 2535 represents the position of the animal while propelling itself through the water in the act uf swimming. The arrow indicates the direction of the animal ; the siphon, throwing out succes- sive gushes of water, is seen under the extended arms. While crawling along the progress made was slow, and it seemed to work its way like a snail, but this motion was only apparently reptant, for the suckers were the organs of loniomotion. When the poulp was at the point of death, it drew in by slow degrees its large arms and their membranes, and contracted them upon themselves and all the othtr arms, so as to obstruct the opening of the shell. At this moment the shell was moved, and the poulp separated itself from it, not volun- tarily but accidenlallj~, for it no longer held it in any way. It appeared at first to become a little re- animated, made some movements in the basin upon its head, then tell from weakness, and soon died. All this passed in less than ten minutes. Another form of shelled cephalopod is presented to us in the Spirula. The shell is concealed under the mantle at the lower part of the body, and is spiral, but the whorls are separated from each other instead of being contiguous ; internally it is divided into chambers prelorated by a siphon, and the last or external turn of the spire is prolonged in a straight line. Our information respecting the Spirula is very limited. In the Ammonites, Belemnites, &c., we are pre- sented with the fossil relics in great abundance of extinct testaceous cephalopods ; and certain distinct forms of them are characteristic of certain systems of rocks. According to Dr. Buckland the family of the Ammonites* extends through the entire series of the fossiliferous formations from the transition strata to the chalk inclusive. Cuvier appeared to consider the Ammonites as internal shells, like Spirula; and found one reason in the smallness of the outer chamber of lodgement ; but in the opinion of Professors Owen and Buckland, they were external shells, in the outer chamber of which the animal resided. The latter thus writes ; — ^" The smallness of the outer chamber or place of lodgement for the animal is advanced by Cuvier in favour of his opinion that Ammonites, like the Spirula, were internal shells. This reason is probably founded on observations made upon imperfect specimens. The outer chamber of the Ammonites is very seldom preserved in a perfect state ; but when this happens, it is found to bear at least as large a proportion to the chambered part of the shell, as the outer cell of the Nautilus Pompilius bears to the chambered in- terior of that shell. It often occupies more than half, and in some cases the whole circumference, of the outer whorl. This open chamber is not thin and feeble like the long anterior chamber of the Spirula, which is placed within the body of the animal, producing this shell, but is nearly of equal thickness with the close chambers of the Am- monite." Fig. 2536 represents a Section of Ammonites obtusus ; a, b, c, d, the outer chamber ; the siphon or tube of communication may be traced from d, where it opens into the last or outer chamber, along the edge of the section, e,f, g, h, i, to the very nu- cleus of the shell ; the waved transverse lines repre- sent the partitions of the chambere. In some species the margin of the outer chamber is reflected and thickened, in some it is prolonged into a beak ; some species are furnished with spines, others are rugose. Fig. 2537 represents the Beaked Ammonite (A. rostratus). Figs. 25.38, 2539, 2540, 2541 (a, rim of mouth), 2542, 2543, and 2544, exhibit various species of Ammonites, with perfect mouths, the outlines of which may be compared. Figs. 2545 and 2.546 exhibit other specimens of perfect-mouthed ammonites (a, outline of the mouth of Fig. 2546), and Fig. 2547, the Ammonites nodosus, which will convey an idea of the concamerations in some of the species. Fig. 2548 represents an ammonite with an imperfect mouth, and Fig. 2549 a section. As the ammonites, of which about two hundred and twenty-three species are distinguished, were evidently principal agents for keeping within bounds the mollusks, &c., the crustaceans, and perhaps fishes of the periods prior to the chalk formation, and belonging to the latter epoch, we should ex- pect to find them widely distributed. Accordingly, they occur in Europe, Asia, and America, in strata apparently of the same date. In some instances, the genera and even the species are identical. Dr. Gerard found in the Himalaya Mountains, at an ele. * Fonnerly called Corntia Ammonii, Uonu of Jupiter Antmon, whence the modern term Ammonite. vation of sixteen thousand feet. Ammonites Walcotii and Ammonites communis, fossils that are found in the lias of Lyme Regis. M. Mdnard met with one in the Maritime Alps at an elevation of one thou- sand five hundred toises. Their numbers must have been great : M. Dufresne informed Lamarck that the road from Auxerre to Avalon in Burgundy was absolutely paved with them. The individual agency too of some of these carnivorous instruments for preserving the balance of marine animal power must have been of no small importance. Lamarck says that he has seen ammonites of two feet (French) in diameter. Mr. James Sowerby and Mr. Mantell record ammonites in the chalk with a diameter of three feet; and Dr. Buckland states that Sir T. Harvey and Mr Keith measured ammonites in the chalk near .Margate which exceeded four feet in diameter ; and this in cases where the diameter could have been in a very small degree enlarged by pressure. Dr. Buckland is of opinion that the Rhyncholites, or beakstones, which occur so abundantly in the oolite of Stonesfield, in the lias at Lyme Regis and Bath, in the muschelkalk of Luneville, &c., were the mandibles of ammonites as well as of fossil nautili, and there can be no reasonable doubt of the fact. It would appear that the ammonites, or rather the cephalopods inhabiting these shells, had no ink- bags ; but for much information on this and other points we refer to Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise, in which their history is copiously illustrated. 2550. — Duval's Crioceratitk (Crioceratiles Duvallii). This fossil shell is closely allied to the Ammonites, but the whorls are apart and not contiguous as in the latter. This form has received from Mr. Sowerby the generic title of Tropaeum. We may now pass to a group of the shells of extinct cephalopods, termed Goniatites, a group of equal importance with the ammonites, in reasoning on the succession of organic life on the globe. Between these shells and the ammonites there are important distinctions. In the ammonites the siphon, as we have seen, instead of perforating the disc or centre of the transverse plates dividing the chambers (as in nautilus), touches and runs parallel to the inner surface of the shell on the dorsal line. Another characteristic of the ammon- ites is in the form of the sutures or intersections of the transverse internal septa, or plates, with the inner surface of the shell ; these sutures in ammon- ites are undulated or angularly bent into lobes and sinuses, seldom zigzag : in nautilus they are even, or gently waved, but in goniatites the forms of the sutures are in general singularly waved, zigzag, and greatly varied. Von Buch regards the sinuous edges of the septa of the ammonites and goniatites to be necessarily derived from the doi-sal position of the siphuncle ; " all the other differences," he says, "are derived from this primary distinction. The nautilus, which passes a very large siphon through the middle of the septa, appears sufficiently attached by this membranous basis on which it rests. There is no need of any other support, and the septa in general" remains smooth, and concave without sinuosities on the edges. The small dorsal siphon of the ammonites (and goniatites, which Von Buch regarded as included in that group) would not suffice to secure the animal from dis- placement on the surface of its cell." He contends that other supports^are needed, and that they are to be found in the marginal lobes, which the form of the goniatites, in particular, impresses on the parti- tions of the chambers, and which are generally six in number, as seen at Fig. 2551. One ventral, V; one dorsal, D ; and two on each side, L L, L' L'. The species of Goniatite are rather numerous : the late Mr. Martin, in his 'Petrificata Derbiensia,' figured two species from the limestone ; Mr. Sowerby, in the 'Mineral Conchology of Great Britain,' added two others ; and Professor Phillips, in the ' Illustration of the Geology of Yorkshire,' has raised the number of British species to thirty-six; of these the septa are completely ascertained. These, added to the distinct continental species, make up a total of seventy-one or seventy-two with which naturalists are acquainted. With respect to their external form, the goniatites form a sub-globular figure, to the discoid spiral shape of the flattest ammonites. Most have rounded backs, a few have the back carinated. In general the lines of growth externally visible are sigmoidally waved; sometimes, however, the striae are annular, sometimes radiating; occasionlly the strise rise into tubercles on the inner edge of the whorls. 2552. — The Truncate Goniatite (Goniatites tfuncattis). In this species the striae arc sigmoid. AMMOSITES.J MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 187 2353. — Lister's Goniatitb (Goniatites Listen). In this species the striae rise into ridges on the inner edge of the whorls. 2554. — The Spibohbal Goniatite (Goniatltes spirorbis). This species is remarkable for the multitudinous inner whorls. 2.555. — Gibson's Goniatitb (Gonwtites Gibsoni). In this species the striae are divided as in many ammonites. We may now turn to the sutures of the goniatites, which exhibit the most singular curves, flexures, and zigzags. The following arrangement, and the ac- companying figures, will show the principal varia- tions in the sutures, which are very interesting, and which may be compared with actual specimens by those who possess them. The arrow in each case is supposed to point towards the apertur.e. Division 1. The dorsal lobe simple, one lateral lobe. Lateral lobe single, and rounded; Fig. 2556, Goniatites expansus. Lateral lobe single and angular; Fig. 2357, Goniatites sublaevis. Division 2. Dorsal lobe simple, more than one lateral lobe. Lateral lobes linguiform and nearly equal ; Fig. 2558, Goniatites Henslowi. Lateral lobes rounded and nearly equal ; Fig. 255f), Goniatites serpentinus. Inner lateral lobes veij much the largest ; Fig. 2.560, Goniatites Munsteri. Lateral lobes very unequal and oblique; Fig. 2561, Goniatites Haeninghausi. Division 3. Dorsal lobe divided ; lateral lobe single. Lateral lobes and sinuses rounded; Fig. 2562, Goniatites bidorsalis. Lateral lobes and sinuses angular; Fig. 2563, Goniatites striatus. Division 4. Dorsal lobe divided or complicated ; lateral lobes more than one. Lobes rounded or loop-like ; Fig. 2.564, Goniatites cyclolobus. It may here be observed that the same transition rocks which contain a large portion of the con- tinental species of goniatites, yield also examples of a cognate group, from which indeed they are with difiSculty to be distinguished. These have re- ceived the name of Clymenia ; and it has been observed " that if the goniatites are considered as of the ammonoid type, the clymenia may be re- garded as of the nautiloid type." Their siphon is always on the inner margin, and the septa, instead of a reflex wave, on the dorsal line, have a bend forward towards the aperture. The clymeniae have all the variations of form and surface which obtain among the goniatites. The following figures re- present the variations of the suture in several species : — Fig. 2565, Clymenia laevigata. Fig. 2566, Clymenia corapressa. Fig. 2.567, Clymenia planorbiformis. Fig. 2iJ68, Clymenia striata. Figs. 2569 and 2570 exhibit a comparison between the suture of a species of ammonite, and one of an allied group, termed Ceratites, supposed to be peculiar to the muschelkalk. Fig. 2.571, Ammonites planicostatus. Fig. 2.572, Ceratites nodosus. As other examples of the sutures of ammonites, we may refer to the following : — Fig. 2573, Ammonites sublaevis, from Kelloway rock. Fig. 2574, Ammonites venustus, from Speeton clay. Fig. 2.575, Ammonites Walcotii, from the lias. Another group of fossil shells, inhabited by cephalopodous tenants, is termed Baculites. This genus was first discovered by Faujas de St. Fond in the limestone of Maestricht, and is found in the limestone of Valognes, in Normandy, in considerable abundance. The shell is straight, more or less com- pressed, conical or rather tapering to a point, and Tery much elongated. The chambers are sinuous and pierced by a marginal siphon ; and the last chamber is several inches in length. Fig. 2.570 represents the Baculitos vertebralis : a, b, portions of the fossil shell, exhibiting the character of the sutures ; c is a detached joint. Another fossil form of the ammonite group is that termed Turrilites. In this genus the shell is spiral, turreted, and chambered; the chambers are divided by sinuous septa, the siphon piercing their discs. The aperture is round. It would appear that the shells of this form among the extinct cephalopods are all sinistrorsal, and the septa have the sinuosities of the ammonites. According to Mr. Sowerby, the siphuncle is situated near the upper part of the whorls, and the cavity Vol. II. beyond the last enclosed chamber is very large, so that the shell was external and tenanted as in the case of the nautilus. In our island specimens of this genus occur in the chalk and green-sand ; and similar strata on the continent also afford them. Fig. 2577 represents an imperfect specimen of Turrilites costatus. Another fossil group of shells, belonging to ex- tinct cephalopods, are the Belemnites, Orthoceratites, Cyrtoceratites, &c. The belemnites, which have been termed arrow-heads, thunder-stones, &e., and which have been also regarded by some as the teeth of some unknown strange animal, and by others as the spines of some species of echinus, to say nothing of many vague conjectures besides, are extremely abundant in the chalk formations, in the lias, and the oolite. They are evidently internal shells analogous to those of the sepia officinalis, but more solid, and of a diff'erent figure, being long and conical. M. de Blainville, in his memoir published at Paris, in 1827, has separated the genus Belemnites into many divisions according to the shape of the shells, and has recorded a great many species. Professor Agassiz is of opinion that the fossil ink- bags of cuttle-fish, found in the lias at Lyme Regis, belonged to Belemnites, and the reasons upon which he founds this conclusion are derived from the fact that specimens of the belemnite have been discovered presenting the ink-bag in situ. Fig. 2.578 represents Belemnites canaliculatus with a portion removed, showing the internal chambered part. Miller, in his paper in the ' Transactions of the Geological Society,' gives the following as the generic characters of the belemnites:— " A cephalopodous molluscous animal provided with a fibrous spathose conical shell, divided by transverse concave septa into separate cells or chambers, and inserted into a solid, laminar, fibrous spathose, subcorneal, or fusiform body, extending beyond it, and forming a protecting guard or sheath.'' To this may be added that it was internal like the gladius of the calamary or the ' bone ' of the cuttle-fish. To the Silurian rocks, the Devonian, and the car- boniferous or mountain limestone systems of Europe and North America, belong the fossil Orthoceratites. The true orthoceratites are straight and conical in form, with dissepiments or sutures approximate, concave, oblique, with a slight wave in front, or in that part of the shell where the siphuncle is situated. The siphuncle is small, and placed between the edge and centre of the septa or dissepiment. These fossils in many places have been erroneously re- garded as crocodiles' fails. The late Mr. Martin, in his ' Petrificata Derbiensia,' who figures two species from the black marble at Ashford, observes : " The crocodile, said to have been found in the limestone at Ashford, appears to be nothing more than a particularly large specimen of this or some other orthoceratite, probably the species we have figured in the 38th plate ;" and he adds, " as a further confirmation of the opinion we have formed respecting this supposed crocodile, we have to remark that the men who now work in the marble quarries at Asford continue to call the orthocera- tites, when they meet with them, crocodiles' tails, agreeably to the idea which was first entertained on finding these bodies." Fig. 2379 represents the Orthoceras laterale. It has been remarked that " the cases are few in which the apex of orthoceratites has been actually observed;" and that " in several cases of supposed straight shells the apical part is seen to be curved," whence it is probable that the term orthoceras (opBos, straight ; Kepas, a horn) is not universally or strictly applicable. Among the numerous allied genera we may allude to the following species :— Fig. 2580, Cyrtoceras depressum. Fig. 2.581, Lituites articulatus. Figs. 2582 and 2583, Phragmoceras ventricosum. In classing the bent or partially convoluted polythalamacea, we may find advantage in attend- ing to the situation of the siphuncle. For example, the siphuncle is subdorsal or approaches the outer line of curvature in Cyrtoceras, Goldl'uss, and Gyro- ceras, Meyer; it is subcentral in Lituites, Breyn ; and it is subcentral or approaches the inner line of curvature in the genus Phragmoceras, Broderip. The geological distribution of these forms is nearly as in the orthocerata. They are all peculiar to the strata below the new red system ; and mostly occur below the carboniferous or mountain lime- stone. Phragmoceras prevails in the Ludlow rocks ; Cyrtoceras specially abounds in the strata of South Devon, the Eifel, and the mountain limestone ; and Gyroceras and Lituites fellow nearly the same rule ; a few species of Lituites occur in the Silurian rocks. The brief characters of the generic groups which follow may be sufficient for the recognition of per- fect specimens, but such are rarely found in the older rocks, where aloneHhey occur. Cyrtoceras (Kvpros, curved, and xepas, a horn), Goldfuss. Bent, arched, or partially convoluted, the free end being sometimes elongated and straight. Septal edges seldom free from a slight waving ; siphuncle subdorsal, or even marginal, seldom quite round ; aperture nearly orbicular. Example, Cyrtoceras depressum. From the Eifel. Several other species occur in Devonshire, near Ludlow, &c. Gyroceras (yvpcs, incurred ; xtpos, a horn), Meyer. Coiled like a tendril, so that the volutions do not touch. Septal edge even, siphuncle dorsal, mar- ginal. Aperture nearly round. Gyroceras gracile, Meyer. Bronn, in ' Leth. Geog.,' vol i., fig. 0. From the states of Dillen- burg. Lituites, Breyn. Convoluted, so that the volu- tions touch in all the inner part, but afterwards extended into a straight or bent portion. Septa pierced by a subcentral siphuncle. Aperture nearly round. Example, Lituites articulatus. Sow. Phragmoceras (^ppay/ia, septum ; Kepas, a horn), Broderip. Shell incurved and compressed, more or less conical : septal edges entire, crossed ex- ternally by the lines of growth ; siphuncle near the inner margin ; aperture contracted at the middle, its outer extremity produced into an elongated beak. Example, Phragmoceras ventricosum. Broderip, in ' Silurian Researches.' Among the fossils derived from extinct species of cephalopods, are those constituting the genus Bel- optera, established by Deshayes, and described by M. de Blainville as belonging to a form entirely unknown, but which was characterized by contain- ing on the back part of its muscular envelop a symmetrical calcareous or bony shell, formed of a thick solid .summit very much loaded behind, and a front tube more or less complete, the cavity of which is conical and annular, the shell or bone having wing-shaped appendages without any an- terior shield-like prolongation. De Blainville divides the genus into two sections. The first consists of species whose wing-shaped appendages are united below the summit, and whose cavity is somewhat in the shape of a scuttle (hotte) ; of this section Beloptera sepioidea is an example. (Fig. 2584.) The second includes species whose wing-shaped appendages are distinct, and whose cavity is com- pletely conical, with traces of chambers and of a siphon. Of this division Beloptera belemnoidea is an illustration. (Fig. 2385.) De Blainville observes that this genus ought to be placed at the end of the sepiacea, or cuttles ; and that the first of the species is evidently very much allied to the bones of those animals, while the second approaches to the belemnites. After all, the probability is that these bodies are only portions of the bones of some of the cuttle- fishes ; and this appears to have been the opinion of Cuvier. If a perfect bone of the common species of our coasts be closely examined, a structure very analo- gous to the conical circularly-grooved cavity of Beloptera, although in a more expanded form, will be observed. These fossils have been found in the London clay, and other beds above the chalk. Voltz, in his memoir on Belemnites, makes Bel- optera sepioidea a distinct genus under the name ofBelosaepia. CLASS PTEROPODA (Pteropods, as Clio, Hyalsea, &c.). The Pteropoda, or wing-footed mollusks, are so called because they are constructed for moving through the waters, of which they are the tenants, by means of expanded fin-like membranes, placed on each side of the head ; some, as the Clio, so abundant in the northern seas, are covered with a contractile envelop, but are otherwise naked and destitute of a mantle. Others, as the Hyalaea, Spiratella, and Cleodora, have a mantle protected by a shell ; all are bise.xual. 2586.— The Polak Clio (Clio borealis). The Clio borealis may be de- scribed as a sort of marine slug with a pair of wing- like fins or oars attached to each side of the neck, by means of which the animal rows itself merrily along, and sports amidst the watei-s of the Polar Sea, rising and descending at pleasure. These oars are made up of muscular fibres, wtncti pass through the neck from one expanded appen- dage to the other, so that the organ is m fact single, and may be compared to the double paddled oar with which the Greenlander propels and steers his ^ST asn.— TOnUUta onutiu : tmpoftct. m r-f^ f^ 2675. 2S59. :ueo. 25M. ^aiM\/ij^ S5G4. ^Ti fU 2K6.— Bacnlilcs Tertebralia 2S72. 'X-O^"-! 2565. ssst. i-' 25BT. w^'^^j ,-J-- 2s;i. rv ^ 2574. 5^L-A^ V^>- 2S6?. 188 2SS0.— Cyrtoceras doiiressmn. 2533 — Pliragmoccras veDtricJsair. 253I._IittUtesiWIcuUili». 2582.— rhragmoceras veniricosum. J5I3.— Belemnites caaalloulatus. 2535.— Bdoptcra bdemuoidoa. 25"9.-OrlhocCTos latwale. 25S4.— Beloptera Brpioldca. 189 190 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Pteropoda. kajak in the veiy mm which the clio itself na- vieates. The outer covering of the clio ia a delicate semi- transparent soft skin which covers a second lunie. This last is thicker, and presents longitudinal and very sensible muscular fibres, which come from two principal bundles attached to the sides of the neck. The effect of these fibres must be to shorten the general envelop of the body, and to approxi- mate its form to a spherical shape. Cuvier, who gives the above description, adds, that he knows not with what the interval between this fleshy tunic and the mass of the viscera is filled in the living state ; but observes that it is certain that these do i not occupy the half of the area which the tunic incloses ; and conjectures that there may be a liquor diffused there, or perhaps only a (juantity of air which the animal can compress at pleasure when it would sink in the water, and dilate when it would rise. The head of the clio is enveloped in a sort of hood, which can be opened and retracted at plea- sure, so as to expose the mouth surrounded by three conical appendages on each side, like little fleshy tentacula. Examined by means of a micro- scope, each of these appendages is seen to be re- gularly and numerously covered with red points, which, when inspected through a lens of great power, are found to bedistinct transparent cylinders, each sheathing about twenty minute suckers, which are capable of being protruded, and acting as organs of firm prehension. It has been calculated that the total number of these suckers upon the conical appendages of a single clio amount to three hundred and sixty thousand. Besides these oval appendages, the clio can pro- tnide from its head, through a perforation in the centre of each valve of the hood, two slender horns or feelers, in order to ascertain the presence of food. The mouth of this little creature is a triangular orifice armed, according to Eschricht, with two jaws with sharp horny pectinations fixed on a fleshy base. These pectinations are of unequal length, but their points are nearly on the same level, and they can be protruded for the purpose of seizing prey. Within the mouth is a tongue with its tip and upper surface covered with minute curved hooks in regular rows, evidently serving to assist in the act of de- glutition. With respect to eyes, Cuvier says, " some natu- ralists attribute these organs to them," and De Blamville has expressly described them. They are two in number, placed on the back of the neck, and, though excessively minute, appear to have a very complete structure. Cuvier regarded the oars of this animal as its aerating as well as locomotive organs, but the cor- rectness of this opinion is denied by Eschricht ; in fact we are not only in ignorance as to the laboratory in which the circulating fluid undergoes its requi- site purification, but also with respect to several other details in the economy of this molkisk. The digestive apparatus is simple ; there is a large liver ; and there are also long slender salivary glands. The clio borealis, though not more than an inch in length, forms the chief part of the food of the huge Greenland whale, — and under the name of " whales-food " is well known to the sailors who chase this huge tenant of the ocean. The clio dwells in shoals so countless and extensive that the surface of the water for a vast distance often seems alive with them, as they sport and gambol heedless of their destroyer, who, as he passes through their ranks, " thick as autumnal leaves in Valombrosa," opens his mouth and ingulfs thousands at a snap. Sir E. Parry found the clio in astonishing abund- ance in all parts of Baffin's Bay and Davis's Strait in the neighbourhood of ice. Captain James Ross observed it very numerous in most parts of the Arctic Ocean, but less abundant in Regent's Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia. Vi^hen the weather is calm these animals come in myriads to the surface for the purpose of respiration, but scarcely have they reached it when they again precipitate themselves towards the bottom. A, Clio borealis, yiew of the back ; a, the body ; b, the viscera, seen through the common integul ments ; c, the tubercles of the head, and the holes wherein the three tentacula on each side are with- drawn ; rf, rf, gills and fins. B, the same, view of the belly ; a, c, d, indicate the same parts as in A ; e, the two tentacula placed before the mouth. C, the same laid open ; c, d, indicate the same parts as in the two former figures; /,/, the external tunic or skin ; g, g, the internal tunic or fleshy pannicle ; h, h, the principal bundles of its fibres ; i, the mass of viscera; m, the principal vein of the fins. We may pass from Clio to the Hyalseidae of Cuvie- (family Thecosomata, order Aporobranchiata of De Blainville). The general characters of this family may be summed up as follows : — Animal furnished with a head, but it is not distinct ; a third natatory mem- brane exists on the ventral region, it is small and intermediate between the two large fins. The mouth is situated in a cavity formed by the union of the locomotive organs. Shell nearly always present, but very variable in form. 2587, 2588.— The Cymbulia (Ci/mbulia Peronii) . Cuvier describes the Cymbulia as having a cartilaginous or gelatinous envelop in the form of a boat or slipper, beset with pomts in longitudinal rows ; and the animal itself as pos- sessing two great wings which are at once branchiae and fins, and between on the open side a third smaller lobe which is three-pointed. See Fig. 2587; a, a, the fins; &, the intermediate lobe ; i, the viscera seen through the shell. The mouth, pro- vided with two small tentacula, is placed between the wings towards the shut side of the cell, and above are two small eyes. The transparency of the texture permits the mternal organs to be distin- guished with great facility. The shell is cartilagi- nous, translucent, oblong, in the form of a slipper, and entirely covered with a delicate and scarcely visible membrane. M. Rang observes that this curious and very incompletely known genus contains only a single species (1829), which is found in the Me- diterranean Sea ; and he adds that he only knows it from a drawing communicated to him by Cuvier, who in his ' R^gne Animal' remarks that in the figure pven by M. de Blainville (' Malacologie ') the animal IS placed in the shell the wrong way : and that his (Cuvier's) description rests on recent and repeated observations made by M. Laurillard. M. Deshayes confirms this remark as to the inverse position of the animal, and says that he has had occasion to verify it often. M. Deshayes in his edition of Lamarck (1836) enumerates five species. That known to M. Rang was the C. Peronii. Fig. 2588 exhibits three figures of Cymbulia in three different aspects : — a, the animal seen in the shell, seen from above ; b, the shell edgeways ; c, the shell seen from above. 2589. — The Spibatella 'Spiratella limacina, Blainville). Limacina arctica, Cuv. ; Clio helicina, Phipps and Gmelin ; Argonauta arctica, Fabricius. The spiratella is a curious little animal, the body of which is elongated anteriorly, and turned into a spiral form behind : branchiae in the form of plaits on the back ; mouth furnished with two small ap- pendages, which are united by one of their extremi- ties to the anterior border. Shell very delicate, fragile, vitreous, spiral, not carinated, turning rather obliquely on itself, with a circular aperture and simple borders. (Rang.) Cuvier is of opinion that the Limacinae ought, according to the description of Fabricius, to bear a strong relationship to Pneumodermon ; but their body is terminated by a tail, which is twisted spi- rally (' contourn^e en spirale '), and is lodged in a very delicate shell, of one whorl and a half, unbili- cated on one side and flattened on the other. Cuvier adds that the animal uses its shell as a boat and its wings as oars when it would swim on the surface of the sea. The same author remarks, that the only species, Clio helicina of Phipps and Gmelin, is scarcely less abundant in the Icy Sea than Clio borealis [Clio], and is considered as one of the principal aliments of the whale. He observes that he does not know whether the animal figured by Mr. Scoresby, of which M. de Blainville (' Malaco- logie,' pi. xlviii. bis. f. 5) makes his genus Spiratella, is in reality, as M. de Blainville believes, the same animal with that of Phipps and Fabricius. M. Rang considers Spiratella of De Blainville as syn- onymous with Limacina, of which M. Rang states that but one species is known, and says that it would be interesting to have new accounts of it. He speaks of its inhabiting the North Sea, its pro- digious abundance, and the possibility of its serving as food for the whales. Phipps mentions it as being found in innumerable quantities in the Arctic Seas, an(J describes its body as of the size of a pea, rolled up into a spire like a helix, and its ovate, obtuse, expanded wings as being greater than the body. The cut is taken from the figure of M. de Blainville, who founds his genus (which he places under his family of Pteropoda, between Atlanta and Argo- nauta) on the materials furnished by Mr. Scoresby, and considers his Spiratella as synonymous with Cuvier's Limacina. Mr. G. B. Sowerby figures a Limacina (in his 'Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells,' and in the same number as that which contains Cymbulia) from Messina. lie describes it as a thin, fragile, spiral, discoid shell, umbilicated on both sides, and carinated on the hack and below, with a membra- naceous lamellar keel ; and he says that it has exter- nally much the appearance of a very diminutive umbilicated nautilus. "M. Deshayes, in his edition of Lamarck, remarks that the Limacinse, of which M. de Blainville formed his genus Spiratella, have in fact much analogy with the Cleodorae ; and that they are Cleodorse whose shell is spiral, and not swimming Gastropodk. like the Carinariae and Atlantee. M. Deshayes goes on to state he has many individuals preserved in spirit, which he owes to the generosity of Dr. r leming, that he has examined them with attention, and that they have not the projecting foot of Atlanta, nor a fin-like foot, but two lateral fins of , the form of those of the Cleodorse. He adds tha they have no tentacles, and no eyes, but a mouth il the shape of a triangular slit at the summit of the' angle which forms the fins. The shell is not closed by an operculum, as that of Atlanta is. M. Deshayes is of opinion that the genus ought to remain amonv the Pteropods, where it was placed by Cuvier ano Lamarck. 2590. — The Three-spined HyaljEa {Hyalaa (rispinosa, Rang). In the genus Hyalgeit the animal is globular or oblong, furnished with two lateral expansions more or less elongated back* wards ; the intermediate lobe of a semicircular form ; two very short tentacles, hardly distinct, contained in a cylindrical sheath ; the aperture of the mouth provided with two labial appendages ; branchiae pectinated, on each side, in a particular cavity. Shell homy or vitreous, transparent, and fragile, in form of a slipper, straight or recurved, with an anterior opening, and split laterally, tricuspidated backwards. (Rang.) M. Rang remarks that this beautiful and inter esting genus, the anatomy of which has been made known by M. Cuvier and M. de Blainville, is per- fectly distinct from those which approach it. He speaks of the Hyalaeae as very small animals, spread over all the seas of the torrid zone, and a great part of those of the temperate zones, and of the occur- rence of the same species on the most opposite points of the globe. He adds that the discovery which he had made of many species, one in a fossil state, had caused him to divide the Hyalaeae into the two following groups : — 1. Globtdosae. — Shell subglobular, having the lateral slits nearly as long as itself, and the ap- pendages placed very much backward. H. unci- nata, &c. This group, he says, is the most nu- merous. 2. ElongatcB. — Shell elongated, having the lateral slits short and the appendages advanced. H. tri- spinosa, &c. Cuvier describes Hyalaca as having two great wings, no tentacles, a mantle slit at the sides, lodging the branchiae in the bottom of the fissures, and covered by a shell equally slit at the sides, the ventral surface of which is very convex, the dorsal flat and longer than the other, and the transversal line, which unites them behind, furnished with three pointed dentilations. In the living state, the animal projects by the lateral slits of the shell filaments more or less long, which are productions of the mantle. Cuvier concludes by observing that the species most known (Anomia tridentata, Forskahl ; Cavolina natans, Abildgaaidt; Hyalsea cornea (tri- dentata), Lamarck) has a small yellowish demi- transparent shell, which is found in the Mediterra- nean Sea and in the ocean. M. de Blainville, who has published a monograph of this genus in the ' Journal de Physique,' and in the ' Dictionnaire des Sciences Natureiles,' states that it contains already (1825) from five to six species, all of which appear to be the inhabitants of warm climates. He considers the genus Glan- diolus of De Montfort as belonging to the Hyala'ae, and quotes the observation of M. Defrance to that effect with approbation. M. Deshayes enumerates sixteen recent species, exclusive of Hyalaea cuspidata, which, he says, is not a true Hyaloca, as Bosc, De Roissy, and Lamarck believed, but a Cleodora. MM., Rang, D'Orbigny, Lesueur, and Quoy and Gaimard, have principally contributed to the number of species. Referring to Fig. 2.590,— « represents the fins; h, the intermediate lobe ; c, the mouth ; e, the lateral expansions of the mantle ; i, the viscera seen through the shell ; h, the shell. 2591. — The Tbidejjtatb Htal^a (Hijalma tridentata of Forskahl and Gmelin); Hyalaea papilionacea, Bory de St. Vincent ; Hyalia cornea, De Roissy. This species inhabits the Mediterranean and the warmer seas. Its size scarcely equals that of a small hazel-nut. Referring to Fig. 2.591,— a re- presents the anterior border of the animal, shovfing the mouth. 2592.— The Pybamidal Cleodoea {Cleodora pyramidata). Cuvier remarks, that the Cleodorae, for which Brown originally founded the Gasteropoda.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 191 genus Clio, appear analogous to the Hyalaeao in the simplicity of their wings and the absence of tentacles between them; their conic or pyramidal shell, he adds, is not slit on the sides; and he quotes M. Rank's genera and subgenera, M^ Deshayes, in his edition of Lamarck, states that the Cleodorae are much more allied to the Hyalaeie than the Clios, appioaching the former not only in having a shell, but also in the form of the animal, which bears a great resemblance to that of Hyalaea. It is not astonishing, proceeds M. Des- hayes, that Lamaick, who had approximated the Cleodorse to the Clios, should regard them as not very closely related to the Hyalase ; for, when he wrote, but a very small number of species were known, and he could hardly foresee that the assiduous researches of MM. Quoy and Gaimard, Rang and D'Orbigny, should have contributed to throw so much light on the Pteropods in general, and the Hyalsese and Cleodor* in particular. If we have before us a sufficient number of species belonging to the two last-named genera, we shall see them blend into each other so as to make it impossible to draw the line between them. It is thus, continues M. Des- hayes, that we proceed by insensible degrees from the globular to the lanceolate species. The following is M. Rang's definition of Cleo- dora : — Animal of an oblong or elongated form, furnished with an intermediate demicircular lobe, but having no lateral expansions ; mantle open in front; bran- chiiB incompletely known. Shell fragile, vitreous, in form of a sheath or case (gaine ou cornet), more or less pointed posteriorly ; aperture very large, nearly always without a slit, and without lateral appendages. The same zoologist having, as he states, ob- tained many new species, and studied their organi- zation, divides the genus into the following sub- genera:— 1. Cleodorae properly so called. Animal of an oblong form, having the mantle very much dilated and advanced on each side. Shell pyramidal, angular, very much dilated an- teriorly, with a very large aperture, canaliculated on each side, and rarely slit. M. Rang makes this subgenus comprise (1829) five species only, two of which he considers as very doubtful. Type Cleodora lanceolata. Description. — Shell compressed, elongated, lan- oeolate; aperture dilated. Locality, the seas of warm climates. M. Deshayes, in his edition of Lamarck, records thirteen species, besides Hyalsea cuspidata. Referring to Fig. 2592, — a represents the animal and shell; 6, the shell seen edgeways; c, the shell seen from above. 2. Cresis. (Rang.) Animal very slender ; the mantle not dilated on its sides ; fins generally rather small. 2593. — The Cresis. Shell very slender, fragile, and diaphanous, in the form of a straight or curved case (cornet), with an aperture almost always as large as the shell itself, and generally without a canal ; no lateral appen- dages. JVI. Rang, who gives this description, says, that he formed this subgenus for some very small new mollusks, which he frequently met with in the middle of the ocean, and to which he unites, by analogy, the genera Vaginella of Daudin, and the Gadus of Montagu, known in the fossil state ; and T.I. Rang reckons nine species. Referring to Fig. 2593, — a represents the fins; h, the intermediate lobe ; c, the mouth ; i, the vis- cera seen through the shell ; h, the shell. A closely allied form has received from M. Rang the name of Cuvieria (see Fig. 2594), characterized by the animal being elongated, furnished with two rather large fins, and with an intermediate demi- circular lobe : the exterior branchiae situated at the base of the nitermediate lobe ; mouth furnished with dentiform pieces adapted for maslication. Shell in the form of a cylindrical case, rather flattened near its aperture, which is heart-shaped, with sharp edges. The species on which M. Rang has founded the genus Cuvieria is a curious little moUusk, common in the Indian Seas, the ocean, and the South Sea. From the perplexing forms which constitute the Pteropodous Mollusks, and which, however curious they may be from their structure, are interesting rather to the naturalist than the general reader (their habits and manners being indeed necessarily but little "known), we shall pass to another great division or class of the mollusks, termed by scien- tific writers, generally. Gasteropoda, or Gastropodous Mollusks, from the circumstance of the under sur- face being modified into a fleshy disc for the purposes of locomotion, as we see in the snail or .••Jug. CLASS GASTEROPODA (Gastropodous Mollusks, as Slugs, Snails, Whelks, Cowries, &c.). The Gastropods, or Uni- valve Mollusks, present us with a tolerably high grade of organic structure ; far higher than is found in the subsequent class of Bivalve Mol- lusks, viz. Oysters, Mussels, &c. The nervous system, for example, is more concentrated, the viscera are more elaborate ; the head is distinct, and contains a large nervous ganglion ; it is fur- nished also with retractile organs, viz., tentacula, or horns, which are not only instruments of touch, but which often bear upon them the eyes. There is a mouth furnished with teeth, and also with a tongue ; and the sense of taste is very acute. It would appear, moreover, that though no apparatus has been detected, the sense of smell is not alto- gether wanting. The Gasteropoda, as they are endowed with senses which open to them much of the world around them, so are they gifted with according powers of locomotion. As we have said, the title Gastropod is given in allusion to the character of their locomotive organ ; for the under surface of the body is converted into a sort of foot, with a fleshy disc beneath, on which they creep along by means of the expansive and contractile movements of which it is composed. The common garden snail is an instance in point ; if we watch a snail crawling upon a window-pane, on the opposite side of the glass, the muscular working of the disc may be easily seen. Unlike the bivalve-shelled mollusks, the Gastro- pods comprise both aquatic and terrestrial groups ; some are formed for the respiration of air, others of water ; and it is curious to find that some species which tenant the water, as Limnaeus, Planorbis, &c., breathe air, and come to the surface to respire. All the bivalve-shelled mollusks are housed ; not so the Gastropods. The slugs have no shell, or at most a minute plate imbedded in the short con- tracted mantle covering the anterior part of the body above. In Testacella, the mantle, which is minute and at the posterior part of the body below, is protected by a little oval shield. In many marine species, as Doris, and some allied, and the Phyllidia, there is no shell at all. Others, however, have an ample shell, into which the animal can withdraw itself at pleasure; as the Helix, the Limpet (Patella), the Conch, &c. The shell, secreted by an ample membrane, varies infinitely in shape, in compactness, and other particulars. A general view of the mode of formation of the shells of these animals may not, perhaps, prove uninteresting, the more so as it is a subject not com- monly understood. It may be here, then, observed that shells differ in their composition (and the same observation applies to those of the bivalved or acephalous, that is headless, mollusks also). In some, as the conch and others (and the oyster among the bi- valves), the carbonate of lime, with a superabund- ance of animal gelatine, is deposited in layers, a fine membrane interposing between each layer. Hence shells of this composition are termed mem- branous, and the solution of the lime by means of acids will leave the membranes perfect, but soft, having lost the earthy matter which gave them hardness. Moreover, on exposing these mem- branous shells to a red heat, they emit a strong fetid odour of burning animal matter, and fall to pieces. Other shells, as the cowry, present us with a much more uniform composition and compact texture. In these shells, which are termed por- cellaneous, the animal gelatine is in little quantity; and the particles of lime are more equally blended with it, not in layers, but assuming a more or less crystalline arrangement ; the minute crystals pre- senting the form either of rhombs or prisms. Por- cellaneous shells when exposed to the action of fire lose their colour, and give out but little smoke or odour, while they retain their form. On the contrary, they are almost entirely dissolved by the action of acids. These shells are far more brittle than the membranous shells, and also more trans- parent ; and when this brittleness and transparency are very great, they have been termed vitreous, from their resemblance to glass. The inner lining of most membranous shells, of a white, roseate, or other tint, and with a smooth polished surface, is called the nacre, or mother of pearl, and it is from the arrangement of the nacre in regular layers, effecting a series of exquisitely minute ridges or grooves, not unlike, when viewed through a microscope, the striae on the cuticle at the pulpy tips of the fingers, that in so many mem- branous shells we see the nacre iridescent with rain- bow tints, the light being reflected at different angles. In the lining of the fresh-water mussels, and especially in Haliotis, the nacre is very re- splendent. Most, if not all membranous shells are covered externally with an outer skin, or membranous epidermis, which most collectors are anxious to remove ; in conch, which has a tough thick epi- dermis, we generally find that it has been carefully obliterated, to render the appearance more attrac- tive. The shells of the mollusca are the production of a portion of the animal termed the mantle (Pal- lium), and hence, according to the extent and figure of the mantle, and its temporary develop- ments, will be the figure and general characters of the shell. If we take a common snail, or helix, and remove it from the shell (killing it previously by immersion in boiling water), we shall find, on examining the animal, that the whole of the spiral portion, which was lodged in the upper whorls of the shell, is invested with a thin membrane, viz., the mantle. The anterior part of this mantle, on what may be called the back of the mollusk, is considerably thickened, swelling into a portion called the collar. This collar is provided with glands regularly ar- ranged for the deposition of colouring matter, as well as others for the secretion of lime and gelatine, in order to add to the shell as is needed. It is the smooth and thin portion of the mantle that secretes the nacre ; but, as we have said, the collar of the mantle secretes the layers by which the growth of the shell is effected. If, as in the conical-shelled limpet, the collar of the mantle regularly deposits fresh material around the edge of the aperture in equal quantity layer after layer, then the shell will grow in one direction only, the diameter of the mouth enlarging, according to the extension of the collar of the mantle. It mostly, however, happens, that the mantle of these mollusks does not proceed with its work equally on all sides ; indeed, the mantle does not, as in the limpet, hang over the animal in a tent-like manner, but has its margin across the back ; hence it adds only to the edge, and not to the convex side which forms the posterior boundary of the opening. In this case, as in planorbis, the increase of the anterior margin tends to the formation of a spiral shell, the coils being all on one plane. Most commonly there is a preponderance of de- velopment (from the form of the collar), laterally as well as forwards, and then, as in the helix, a spiral or turbinated shell will be the result. If we take a whorled shell in our hand, we shall find that • the turns of the whorl are directed from left to right ; and this results from the situation of the heart and great blood-vessels relatively to the shell, these being placed on the left side ; the left side of the mantle therefore is more active than the right, so that the vis a tergo is from the left, forcing (if we may so speak), towards the right. Occa- sionally we see a shell whorled in a contrary di- rection, the situation of the organs and figure of the body being reversed ; such shells are termed sinis- tral ; they are not common. The axis of the gyration of the whorls of shells is termed the columella, and on dividing a shell longi- tudinally, as the whelk for example, the columella appears like the pillar or modiolus of winding stairs in a tower or steeple ; round which the whorls are wound. The edge of the aperture to which the columella advances is termed the columellar lip: looking on the back of the shell it is on the left hand posteriorly. Instances occur in which the mollusk, for the sake of convenience, removes portions of the interior whorls as it increases in growth ; the cone thins by some process the inner whorls, and the auricula, which inhabits marshy places, obliterates them in its progress of growth. In many shells, as Pterocera, and various species of Murex, as Murex regius and Murex tenuispina, we observe spines, or rows of antler-like projections, at regular distances apart; now these are formed by the collar of the mantle, which, at definite in- tervals, during the growth of the mollusk, becomes temporarily developed in a peculiar manner, shoot- ing out into processes secretmg shelly matter, which encases or nearly encases them. When spine, are produced, as in Murex tenuispina, the slen- der processes of the mantle are encased in the shelly matter ; to this a lining of nacre is added layer after layer, the process of the mantle retiring more and more, till in due time the cavity of the spine is obliterated, and the process of the mantle retracted or absorbed. Where branches like antlers are pro- duced, these will be found to be more or less like troughs or canals, hollowed beneath, the under surface of the extensions of the mantle not secreting shell. In the Cowry (Cypraea)the formation of the shell is very curious ; and, indeed, so greatly does it dif- fer in its young and perfect state, that no one would at first suppose the two to be generically, much less [2tn.— QrmboUi. 2538.— Cymbnlio. v„y 2J9I.— I'lUwUto liyaUsa. 2589.— SplratelUu 25SB.— PqUt Clio. 2590.— TSrecvsptocd Hyalea. ■i594.— Cuvletia. 2;92. -Pywmldal CIcckIom. 2593.— CrCBis. 192 2»96.— Red Slug. 2597.— Shicld«i Slug. i^i^SSarauvHSS^g; 239S.— Great Grey Slug. Sas.— Llmacella. 2800.— Teneriffe Testacella. 2599.— TestaceUa. 2601. — Oliviar's £armacella. 2C03.- Lamarck's CorocoUa. 2602.— Large Garden Snail. No. 75. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 193 194 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Slugs. itpeciftcally, identical. We have already instanced the co»vry as havinjc a porcellaneous shell. The shell, at first, instead of having its lips rolled in- wards and toothed, with the aperture narrow, much resembles the olive shell ; the substance is thin, and the colour dull and opaque, and the outer edge, instead of being rolled inwards and thick, is sharp. But a change occurs ; the mantle begins to be re- fleeted on each side round the shell, covering it externally. The lip curves inwards, the tet>th ap- pear, and beautiful markings are beginning to show themselves. At length the shell is thickened by repeated layers of porcellaneous matter, the colours are vivid, and the spire is completely hidden. If we take the shell of a cowry, and look at it, aline down the centre of its back will be seen marking the place where the two reflected expansions of uie mantle met each other. Among the most singular of the univalve shells is that covering the Chiton, and which forms an exception to the turbinated or whorled character which most exhibit. On examining these slug-like creatures, we find the back covered with a tough leathery mantle, which extends considerably beyond the body of the animal beneath. On the top of this mantle are eight transverse plates of shell, usually overlapping each other like the slates of a house, but never reaching to the edges of the mantle : these free edges have patterns of different insculpture according to the species. In many instances, among aquatic species, the «ntrance of the shell is closed when the animal is withdrawn by means of a horny or calcareous plate, termed the operculum, and which is attached to the portion of the foot last withdrawn. It fits the en- trance precisely, and shuts the raollusk in ; protecting it from the assaults of enemies. The periwinkle is a familiar example. The operculum is, however, sometimes a lid at- tached by a hinge to the coliimellar portion of the lip, and may be regarded as a distinct valve, or, as it is called, a clausium, which may be defined as a modified operculum, attached by an elastic hinge to the columella; and which shuts spontaneously when the mollusk retires within. The membrane, with which the common garden snail and others shut themselves in while hybernating in holes of trees or walls, or under the roots of hedges, or even at- tached to palings, &c., during winter, is termed the epiphragraa. It appears to be indurated mucus, secreted for the occasion. Gastropodous mollusks have the power of re- pairing their shells ; if, for example, a portion of the shell of a common snail be leraoved, without in- juring the animal, which may be easily effected, in twenty-four hours a pellicle will be found extended across the vacant space, but beneath the level of the edges of the fractured part ; this pellicle is thickened by additional layei-s, till it has acquired nearly the thickness of the original shell ; the whole process occupies about a fortnight. The repaired part is veiy distinct, as it is not by a growth of the edges, but by the affixing a plate from within to block up the aperture occasioned by the removal of a portion, that the injury is repaired. Various are the systems of arrangement adopted by naturalists, with respect to the present great group of mollusks, but, as it is far from our design to enter into the "deep things" of science, we shall merely give a brief review of that of Cuvier. He divides the Gastropods into nine ordere, according to the characters presented by the respiratory system, viz.— 1, Pulmonobranchiata; 2, Nudibranchiata ; 3, Inferobranchiata; 4, Tectibranchiata ; 5, Hetcro- poda; 6, Pectinibranchiata; 7, Tubulibranchiata ; 8, Scutibranchiaia; 9, Cyclobranchiata. 1. The Pulmonobranchiata, of which the slug, the snail, the Limnaus, and Planorbis, &c., are examples, are distinguished by respiring atmospheric air, which is alternately drawn into and expelled from a cavity lined with a most delicate vascular network : the respiratory organ opens on the right side of the body near the margin of the shell, below the collar of the mantle ; and it may be further stated that the muscular floor of this cavity performs movements analogous to those of the diaphragm in quadrupeds. Of these air-breathing mollusks, some are terrestrial, others live in streams, or in sluggish or stagnant waters ; and we may here add that, of the aquatic forms, some at least, as Planorbis, are organized to respire both air and water ; of this section some are shelled, others naked. 2. The Nudibranchiata are marine mollusks destitute of a shell, as Doris, Tritonia, Glaucus, &c. They have no pulmonary cavity ; and the branchi.-e are exposed on some part of the back. In the Doris, which swims reversed, the foot appearing uppermost like a boat, the branchiae are flovver-like, and radiate veiy beautifully at the end of the back. 3. The Inferobranchiata, as Phyllidia, have no shells, and their branchiae, like two long rows of leaflets, are placed on each side of the body, under a projecting edge formed by the mantle. 4. Tectibranchiata, as Pleurobranchus, Aplysia, Dulabella, &c., have the branchial fringe or leaflets placed under the margin of the mantle on the right side only. The mantle contains almost always in its substance a little shell. 5. The Heteropoda are so named because their foot, instead of forming a horizontal disc, is com- pressed into the form of a vertical muscular oar, on the edge of which generally is a dilated part hollowed out, representing the disc in other orders ; the branchiae form tufts on the hinder part of the back. These mollusks swim with the back down- wards, and the vertical foot upwards, and are ena- bled to distend themselves by filling the body with water. (i. The Pectinibranchiata form beyond com- parison the most numerous division of the Gastero- poda. This order in tact includes all the inhabit- ants of spiral or whorled univalve sea-shells : their branchiae are comb or gill like, and are placed in one, two, or three rows, suspended from the roof of a branchial chamber, iff the body of the animal, con- tained within the widest or last-formed whorl of the shell. This chamber opens by a wide orifice or by a siijhon which admits the sea-water. The sexes are distinct. 7. Tubulibranchiata. From the Pectinibranchiata has been separated a group termed Tubulibranchiata from having the branchiae in a tubular cavity. The animals of this group, as Vermetus and Magilus, inhabit long irregular shells spirally contorted, and olten twisted in a serpentiforra manner with each other, or with various objects. 8. Scutibranchiaia. The Scutibranchiata, as Haliotis, or sea ear, and Fissurella, &c., agree with the Pectinibranchiata in the general characters of the branchiae ; but they inhabit very open shells which cannot be called turbinated ; and there are other points in their economy which render it at least convenient to separate them into an order by themselves. 9. The Cyclobranchiata, as the Patella, or Limpet, and the Chiton, have the branchiae forming a fringe around the body of the animal under the edges of the mantle. We have already alluded to the senses with which the gastropods are endowed ; and here we may add, as respects the eyes, that they are sometimes seated on the head, sometimes on the top of the tentacles or horns, and sometimes at their base. In the common snail there are two eyes seated each on one of the larger horns or tentacles. In these animals the horns are lour in number, and retractile. In the marine gastropods the tentacles are mostly two in number, and often not retractile, and the eyes are usually seated at their base. In the fresh-water pulmonobranchiata there are only two horns : they are retractile, and the eyes are on their inner base, as in Planorbis, Limnapus, Physa, &c. In the chiton, one of the cyclobranchiate marine gastropods, there are neither eyes nor tentacles. The retractile horns of the snail are organs of touch, especially the two lowermost or shortest, the two uppeimost being, as we have said, furnished with eyes. They are supplied with nerves from the great supra- oesophageal ganglion ; are hollow or tubular; and their retraction is eft'ected by a mus- cular slip, which inverts them like the finger of a glove, the tip being gradually drawn down from within. When thus inverted they lodge in a cavity for their reception. The protrusion of the horn is effected by means of a system of circular muscular fibres composing the walls of the cavity of lodgment and also of each tubular tentacle, which by their con- traction force out the inverted portion, and, having accomplished this, in conjunction with longitudinal fibres give it firmness and mobility. Now it would appear that the nerves which run up the tentacle must be stretched when the latter is extended, but such is not the case ; nerves do not admit of such rude treatment without pain and loss of functional power; the provision is simple; the nerve (whether of sight or feeling) is as long as the tentacle ex- tended to its uttermost, and when the tentacle is inverted it is thrown into series of coils lodged in the cavity into which the tentacle is drawn. Very variable, according to the nature of the food, is the structure of the mouth in the gasteropoda. In the snail and its allies the mouth is placed on the under part of the head, and is furnished with an instru- ment well adapted for cutting leaves and fruits. The oral cavity, which is muscular, has affixed to its upper part a horny plate, the lower edge of which is free, extremely sh.irp, and dentated, and well adapted for dividing the soft parts of vegetables, to which it is applied ; the floor of the oral cavity is provided with a small tongue of a cartilaginous texture, with its surface transversely striated ; and by its action it propels the food into the gullet. Snails and slugs are the pests of the garden ; but slugs, as the ordinary slugs, are very partial to animal food, and when the dog has left a half-picked bone on the grass-plot, we have found it covered with slugs at work upon it ; we have seen them also at work upon dead worms ; and they appear to be guided in their search for food by the sense of smell. In some, as Pleurobranchus (Tectibranchiata), and in Pterotrachea (Heteropoda), the mouth is a simple tube, destitute of teeth, but capable of seiz- ing soft and minute substances. A third kind of mouth is exemplified in the Tritonia (Nudibranchiata). It is of an oval form, furnished witn large fleshy lips, and a tongue covered with spines: wittun the lips are two lateral horny jaws resembling two sharp-edged blades, opposed to each other like those of a pair of shears, and in the same manner working upon an elastic hinge. These blades are acted upon by powerful muscles, and cut hard substances with great facility. The spines on the tongue are recurved, and assist mate- rially in propelling the food into the gullet. A more complicated mouth is found in many of the Pectinibranchiata, as the Whelk (Buccinum). It may be described !\s a flexible proboscis, movable in various directions, and capable of being retracted, like the horns of the snail. To the end of this tubular proboscis, the tongue and also the gullet are both carried out ; the tongue is cartilaginous, and moreover supported by two cartilaginous slips, of which the extremities form a sort of double lip, capable of being opened and closed, and the carti- lages can be moved upon each other by the action of muscles. Now the tongue is armed with sharp, hard, hooked spines ; and when it is applied to any shell which the animal desires to drill for the pur- pose of sucking out the contents, the supporting cartilages by their movements alternately elevate and depress the spines, which rasp aw.xy on a small surface, and soon pierce through the substance. Perhaps in this operation the saliva, which is car- ried by long ducts to the tongue, may assist by some solvent quality it possesses; but although this is probable, it is not positively ascertained. Certain it is, however, that with this slender rasp-like tongue the whelk will pierce shells of great solidity for the sake of feasting on their unfortunate inmates. The digestive apparatus of the gastropods varies in the different groups ; but into this and other points of anatomical detail we forbear to enter. We must attend to our pictorial specimens. ORDER PULMONOBRANCHIATA. Family LIMACID^ (SLUGS). These destructive pests in gardens and cultivated fields are too well known to need a detailed account of their external characters. Almost all have four tentacles, but Cuvier states that in two or three small species the lower pair are wanting ; the mantle, which is generally seen on the anterior portion ot the back, behind the head, often contains a thin shell ; sometimes only calcareous grains. 2595.— The Red Slug (Arion ru/us). Limax rufus, Linn. In this genus the orifice of respiration is towards the anterior part of the mantle, and in the substance of the latter are small calcareous concretions ; a mucous pore at the end of the tail. The red slug is very common, and abounds in some gardens almost as much as the small grey slug, which it greatly exceeds in size. Its general colour is rufous, sometimes deepening almost to black. It is this species of which Cuvier says that in France a decoction (bouillon) is used in diseases of the chest : in some parts of England we have known the small grey garden slugs swallowed in numbers by weak or consumptive persons. 2596. — The Great Gkey Slug (Limax antiquorum, Feruss.). Limax maximus, Linn. In the subgenus Limax, as established by M. Fi^russac, the respiratory orifice is situated more backwards than in Arion ; and the mantle is marked with fine concentric striae, and contains a minute shelly plate. At Fig. 2596, a represents the internal shell of the great grey slug ; b, the same enlarged ; c, the under view of the shell from another indivi- dual. There is no terminal mucous pore. This is the largest British species ; it is rugose above, of a greyish colour, with longitudinal dashes and lines of black. It frequents damp places, and often invades humid cellars or outhouses. Another large species, the black slug (Limax ater), is well known, and is abundant along the banks of hedgerows, and amidst the grass of meadows, dur- ing the summer. It feeds on the leaves and roots ol vegetables. Certain slugs of the East and West Indies, consti- tuting the genus Vaginulus of Ferussac, are remark- able lor haying the mantle extended over the whole of the upper surface of the body, or even extending beyond it, and forming in front a sort of luod, beneath which the head can be withdrawn; there is no rudimentary shell, nor any calcareous coiicre- Snails.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. tions in the mantle, nor is there any terminal pore. When extended these slugs are very slender, and it has been stated that they are both terrestrial and aquatic in their habits, but M. Rang observes that he never met with them in Bourbon and Martinique, except in the woods and gardens, under old fallen trunks. The following is an example. 2597. — The Shielded Slug ( Vaijimtlus Tmmuisi). Onichidium laeve, De Blain- ville. The letter a exhibits the animal contracted and seen on the under side, with the head covered by the mantle; b exhibits the animal extended and crawling. 2598.— The Limacklla {Llmacetta Elfortiand). AH we know of this slug IS from M. de Blainville himself, who first charac- terized If, and who says that the combination of ' characters appears to him so anomalous that he doubts really whether he had well observed the mollusk on which he has established the genus. M. Rang however gives it a place in the family, merely copying the description and M. de Blain- ville s expressions of doubt above stated. Generic character. — Animal elongated, subcy- lindrical, provided with a foot as long and as large as itseli', from which it is separated only by a furrow ; enveloped in a thick skin, forming at the anterior part of the back a sort of buckler for the protection of the pulmonary cavity, the orifice of which is at its right border. ^HAi* P*wl''".u'' '"l"*^'' '■^^' "■''" °" October the 29th, ihn,,; fh kk'^^'u' ' "^' '"'"' '" "'h«r ga-dens about the neighbourhood we cannot learn. 2599.— The Testacella {Testacella scutulum). 2600.— The Tesekiffe Testaceixa (Testacella Mavyei). The Testacellae are slugs, with a contracted mantle, placed over the hinder part of the back, and supporting a small external plate or shell, somewhat spiral in its contour, and of an oval outlme. The tentacles are four; the orifice of the pulmonary cavity is placed under the right side of the posterior apex of the shell. Referring to Fig 2099, a shows the shell externally, b internally of I. scutulum; and turning to Fig. 2600 a arid b exhibit the shell of T. Mauirei. Three species are described and figured by Mr. Sowerby, viz T haliolideus a native of France ; Scutulum, consi- dered by Mr. Sowerby to be a native of England • and Maugei, an inhabitant of Teneriffe, but now naturalized around Bristol. The testacella appears to have been first noticed by iM. Dugu6, in a garden at Dieppe in 1740- but l-TT ?f ,".°' "^f"^ '" ^^^''' attracted much attention till M. Maug6, some years since, brought home spe- cimens (rom the island of Teneriffe. " It has also been lound," says .Mr. Sowerby, '■ in several parts of 1-rance, and in Spain, and more lately in a garden at Bu,1ol. Some specimens from the last-mentioned place have been handed to us by Mr. Miller of that city. It feeds upon earth-worms, having the power «hl! ?"f n "^-'/k' ^'^''y*,? «"<:h a degree, that it is able to follow them in all their subterranean wind- ings: we have observed them attentively, and ivere rather surprised that an animal generally so ex fremely sluggish in its motions, after discoverins its prey by means of its tentacula, thrusting froni its large mouth its white crenulated revolute tonirue shou d instantly seize upon with extraordinary' rapidity, and firmly retain, an earth-v.orm of much greater size and apparent force than itself, but which by Its utmost exertion is unable to escaoe " Mr. Sowerby adds, that De F^rus.sac and Cuvier consKlcr this to be the only carnivorous terrestrial mollusk. Slugs, however, as we have observed are carnivorous. ' De l-^russac remarked that the simple, gelatinous ,?nT/"H '-\"'m""%°'" !'?«,^"™al, hidden habitua ly' under the shell, is divided info many lobes capable of enveloping the whole body by an extraordina y development when the animal finds it necessary to protect itself from the consequences of too -reat dryness. o'^ai Rrwl'o!''lt''? T^ n''''- *^f ■" ♦''« ^''^''ens around Bristol the testacella or shelled slug is now so com- mon as to prove a nuisance. It has been also found m a earden in Gloucestershire (see the 'Penny Maeazine,' 1835 p. 152). Mr. Sowerby found thl Testacella scutulum in a garden at Lambeth ; and in our own garden at Hammersmith this species fat least so we suppose it to be) is tolerably abundant • several specimens, some of considerable size a e now before „s; the colour is yellow, more or less deep, sometimes of a straw tint with a white line along each .side. In crawling, these ,slu<.s greatly extend the anterior part of th^ body, to"an^acu ^ point, and insinuate themselves with the utmost ease into the soil. Their texture is very firm a mo cartilaginous to the feel, and the mucus of the TkTn s extreme y tenacious. They are most common y o be lound in cool and dewy or wet weather and \'SriT. ""■'"' '"'' '" '^^ «ea^on! The' fi?s' 2601. — Olivieb's Parmacella (Parmacella Olivieri). The parmacellie are slus- iike animals, having a mantle with free edges sun- porting on Its posterior portion an oblong flat shell exhibiting the rudiment of a spire. ' Ohvier's parmacella is a native of Mesopotamia whence a specimen was brought by that traveller to Pans, and served for the anatomical researches of Cuvier. Other species are found in Brazil, Bourbon, Mada- gascar, and the East Indies. M. Rang states that n Brazil these parmacellae inhabit the woods, but that at Bourbon and Madagascar he never found them except upon rocks near fresh-water torrents. Family HELICID^ (COMMON GARDEN SNAIL, BULINUS, &c.). 2602.— The Lakgk Garden Snail i-Hellx aspersa). As the fisherman hates the otter so does the gardener this voracious, destructive ?hf;., """r^'' °f, "^'''^^ '" "'<^ K^'den and or- ,dpn Lwv '*i^l'y annoying. If the species be Identical, this snail has a most extensive range It IS found, for instance, over a great part of Europe ^The'^fn- ^"■"=?V*^'he foot of Chimborazo, and island It abounds m the southern and midland coun- ties; yet we do not recollect ever to have seen it in Derbyshire, or in the portions of StaiFordshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire with which we are well acquainted ; and we doubt its existence in the Snlii Vw r "'^ counties the beautiful Belted bnaif (Helix nemoralis) is abundant . The Hehx aspersa often attains to a veiy lar^e size: we have .specimens in which the mouth of the shell measures transversely seven-eighths of an nch. In winter this snail becomes^ torpid, and closes the opening of the shell with a tough mem- brane (Epiphragma). " of the French (Helix pomatia), abundant in the warmer parts of the continent, has been naturalized ■ n Surrey, and some other counties of our island It IS eaten on many parts of the continent, where says Cuvier, it is •' nourriture assez recherchee " Hi h ' ''."i, .r'"';''P^ °^^^' ^V^i^ie^, formed a favourite Sn, .r -^ ^^l "'""''"'' "'''• had their Cochlearia, or Snailleries(Escargotoires, where they were fattened upon meal and new wine, boiled down, and were , sometimes brought to an enormous size. We can not, however, help fancying that some error must have been committed in the text of a passagTfn the work of Pliny, who, on the authority of Varro says cujus artis [i. e. of fattening snails) gloria in eandem magnifudinem perducta sit, ut octoginfa quadrantes caperent singularum calyces." Now rwhi^h il"'"^'''"^ " T'eans a measure of three ounces t^P h f "°' Tf? 'i'.'"'' ""^ h'^^'e ™ a.ssertion, that the shells would hold two hundred and forty ounces or fen quarts which is positively beyond belief! Relerring to this passage, and to Varro (de Re RusI ■ ca). Pennant says, "People need not admire the temperance of the supper of the younger Pliny which consisted of only a lettuce a-piece, th"e^e snails, two eggs, a barley-cake. sweet wine and snow' Hirpbius "" ^"^ proportion to those of .o^»"'"hK"^ fattened at the present day in many parts of the continent, in Escargofoires or SnaillerieT which may be described as pens boarded in and abundantly supplied with herbs, with which ^he floor is covered to the depth of a Ibof i\^nZV'T^°'f '^''•"""'Stances attend the hyberna- tion ot the Helix pomatia, which have been detailed by M Gaspard. He remarks that in our temperate climate as soon as the first autumnal chillsTe felf generally about the commencement of October this species becomes indolent, loses its appetite, and associates in considerable numbers on hillocks, the o.^nks of ditches, thickets, hedges, and simi^lar places. In a short time they cease feeding and and"the likr\t''' under moss, grass, dead ijaves. and the like. Here each forms for itself with the ^iPnT 1 ''"\ °^ "' ■"'"'*'^"'" fo"' ^ cavity uffi- .^.en fly large to contain at least its shell ; this cavHy It enlarges and excavates by turning itse f round on every side, then raising itself against the sides o" the cavi y, and at last against the roof formed o moss or leaves, or a small quantity of earth brough here by its motions. When it has succeeded in bringing he aperture of the shell to nearly a ho/" ":^mXTl^\t°'"- ■ Jl!'^''°'" i^^ooncltracted within the shell, the snail then expands, so as com- pletely to cover It, the collar of the mantle, whi™h 13 at this period very white; and then inspires a Hofe yj "'■■' after which it closes the re.p^Ja ory hrinp if" ^" •i''°"*' ^ •*"« transparent mem^ brane is formed with its mucus, and interposed be- j tween the mantle and any extraneous substances I ly ng aiove. The mantle then secretes rquantitv I of very white fluid over its whole sur ace^ wh c^ sets uniformly, ike plaster of Paris, and i^srant'v I t. ,1^''" "" " hardened, the animal separates ec"e'l';,^"3 «f^ '7''''i" """ '^♦~"^" -'"=°" fion nr^h ' 1 u"f'' ^ ^""^ hours, expelling a por ion of the air It had previously inspired, itis^enabled to shrink a little farther into the shell. It now forms another lamina of mucus, expires more a^ and thus retires farther into the sheirTnX way sometimes a fourth, fifth, and even a sixth pa iMon Su hT^MT-' '"'"'"'^'i-'- -"« filled TthT oucli IS M. Ga.-,pard's account; but Mr Bell re nTS wh ch h" "°' ^'TP'***'^ -plain the mal ner in which the excavation is formed. " It is not Soogl?"T'd'th''/'^ ''°°''' '""'^ ♦'- last^'a'iZ zooiogis., and the turning round of the shell that this IS principally effected. A large auantifv of very viscid mucus is secreted on he^ unTer su ice of the foot to which a layer of earth or dead "eaves adheres; this is turned on one side, and, a f^esh I "h, rcus'i"!*.!™ Tr"^•'•'^'T^ of eart'h'mS witn mucus 1., lelt. The animal then fakes another layer o earth on the bottom of the ?oot turnsit a so to the part where he intends to form the wd 01 his habitation, and leaves ,t in the sam^ m,r epeating the process until the cavity is sufficientlv large, and thus making the sides smooth, even "„* compact. In lorming the dome or arch of the cham ber a similar method is used, the foot collectingon hs under surface a quantity of earth ; and the animal turning ,t upwards, leaves it by throwing out iS mucus and this is repeated unlil a perfect rooft formed. As 1 have very often watched this curious process, .m certain of the facts. On remS veiy carefully a portion of the roof soon after itl completion I was enabled to see the format on of U^^e operculum. In about an hour, or even less alter the hybernaculum is covered in, the whole pours'ou ft '="','"■ °'' '''' ""■*'" insf'antaneously pours out Hie calcareous secretion in considerable quantify. This ,s at first as fluid as thick cream! b very soon acquires exactly the consistence of biid-hme, being excessively adhesive and tenacious ; fecfl} solid"" "" ' ''"^'' '' '' P°"''^'^ °"' ^' ^^ ?«>•- M. Gaspard states that the labour of each indi- vidual continues for about two or three davs • hnt hat the whole of the month of October is o^cupkd HeaddT, .''^"P'l-'he shells of the species. He adds that about the beginning of April the hy- bernation ceases. '< The mode by ^hich their escape from confinement is effected is simple and easi> comprehended. The air which is contained in he different cells, and which had been expired on the animal withdrawing itself farther and farther into the shell after the formation of the operculum ™ again inspired, and each separate membranous par, ition broken by the pressui^ of the hinder p" 1^0 the foot projected through the mantle. When it arrives at the calcareous operculum, the animal ma ingalast effort, bursts Ld detaches its most , obtuse angle Then insinuating by little and little inlu'm^,'; i '^^ !?°' i''^'"''^'^" 'htshill and the oper! ^"'""''t forces the latter oft' or breaks it away." (See the Abstract of M. Gaspard's Memoir, with vol 1) ^ ^- ^'''- ^•^•^■' '^°°'ogical Journal? The following shells are examples of various forms among the Helicids, and serve to show the variation of figure which this family exhibits. 2603.— Lamarck's Carocolla {Carocolla Lamarckii). The animal is represented in the act of crawling along -epresented al£f I'^r ""'^'"'^-^'PP'^'l Carocolla (Corocolla Fiv' imfi" Ih" '^f ■•'•y-';'^-^ Pupa (Pupa uva). Sl:2^o:r^r!!!J^"5^.i^"p-hrysiiis). 9fin7 fi.„ r. -^ - -,"!;'' v^ "pacnrysaiis). depressu'S' '^^:^^ -^"-'°- (Anasto^- 2608.— The Cootused Streptaxis species inhabit the tropical parts of Africa and South America Our figured specimen is a native or Brazil. It IS seen in two views RS^Si'toS*^ "^'^^ ^^^'- ^^^'"^)- In tifo vfews.''^ ^"*''" ^^^*"'^ ^P-^uIa australis). 2611.— The Minute Vertigo h^'M-^n^"f"^- ■}" *he genus Vertigo, established by Muller, the snail has only two tenf!c es or bonis Onhe trV" "'' "P^- The shells are siZZ'. VI the two figures represented at Fig. 2611 a re presents the Vertigo p^usilla, 6 is an a1 hrd pec Ls" with the animal. Both are magnified. Vertigo 202 26u>.— Cepnaed Aimtiina '% 3«11.— MlBate Vertigo, nugolfied. 3*I«.— Cavler's Hellcarion. 3*1S.— FeUveid Vitilna. 2tl0.— Ewtem Partn'o. IMg^CootiuoJ Stnplaxb. % 0-- 3612.— Minnte Vertigo, nuigaincd. 2613.— Clausula. i 4 2S09.— Fragile ]}alea, magnilM. dd 2617.— Glossy Bulinns. 2604.— Wbtte-Upped Carocollo. 2614.— CTcIostoma. 26C5.-Beny-liki! Pupr. 260«^-Chrys«Ua Pi^wu 196 26IS.— Koicatc Buliaus. ft 2621.— T!ire?.baral,-(1 B^lUmuIUf. 2821.— trndulak'd Plukcclieilus. 2624.- .Mcgrx-piva. 2622.— Undulated Plekothiu!ii.s. 2619.— Uloud lipped Bulintu. 2823.— Undulated Plekoch !liis. 137 198 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. pusilla ii alM> represented at Fi-j. 2612, hi two views, with the natural size given l>etween the two figures. 26ia— TheClausilia (QauM'a Mactucaretuii). The shells of this genus, les Norapareiiles of Cuvier, are slender, long, and pointed ; in the adults the last whorl is contracted, compressed, and somewhat detached ; the orifice is complete, with a thickened rim, and often dente- lated. In the narrowed whorl is generally found a small sicrmoid lamina, or clausium. The Clausilife are of small size, and live on mossy banks, or at the foot of trees. Referring to Fig. 2613 — a represents Clausilia Macascarensis ; b, the same, broken, to show c, the Clausium. 2614.— The Cyclostoma [Plaxoiibis. (Cyclnsloma). Dr. Fleming, and the able writer of the articles on shells in the ' Penny Cycloptrdia," place the genus Cyclostoma among the Helicidse, but Cuvier regards it as one of the Pectinibranchiata, where he also places the genus Paliidina, of which the common Helix vivipara of Linnaeus, abundant in our fresh waters, is an example. The species of the genus Cyclostoma are terres- trial ; the sexes are distinct. There are two tenta- cles, terminated by blunt tubercles, considered by Montaeu as eyes, but the true eyes are seated upon two tubercles placed at the base of the two large tentacles. These mollusks inhabit warm mossy banks and woods. Referring to the figure 2614 a represents the Cyclostoma involvuius; b, the Cyclostoma elegans with the animal ; c, the same in such a view as to show the foot. We have abundant specimens of the latter shell taken on the warm chalk hills covered with brushwood near Caversham. close to Reading, Berkshire. It is the Turbo elegans of Lister and others. 2015. — The Pellucid Vitrina iHelicoUmax pellucida). The genus Vitrina has been divided by M. Fenissac into two subgenera, or, as some may regard them, genera, named Heli- coiiniax and Helicarion. of which the latter consists of foreign species. In the former there is no termi- nal mucous pore, which is present in Helicarion. In other details they agree. The shell is small, delicate, spiral, without an umbilicus; and in gene- ral the body of the animal is too large to be entirely retracted within. The tentacles are four, cylin- drical and retractile ; the two upper ones ocellated at their summit. These snails inhabit moist places, and are generally to be found on plants under dead leaves, and in the chinks and fissures of rocks. The Vitrina (Helicolimax) pellucida, or Helix pellucida of M iiller, is a common British species, and was erroneously regarded by Montagu as the young of Helix lucida. The figures represent the animal of the natural size, and the shell in two views magnified. 2616. — Cuviee's Helicarion {Helicarion Ctivieri). In our illustration, a a represent the shell of Cuvier's Helicarion in two views ; and 6 is an allied species of the Helicarion Freycinctti. 2617. — The Glossy Bulinus (Btilinus lubrims). The genus Bulinus (as the word is written by Adanson), or Bulimus (as most natu- ralists write it), is distinguished from Helix by the mouth of the shell being oval ; while the shell, in- stead of being more or less orbicular, has the whorls drawn out or turreted ; and the reflected lip or border on the right side is generally very thick. The last whorl ot^en exceeds all the rest put toge- i ther. The geographical distribution is very exten- sive. The Bulinus lubricus is a minute shell, common in Europe, transparent, and of a smooth shining horn colour. It IS represented at a of the natural size, and at b magnified. 2018. — ^Thb Roseate Bulinus {Bulinus rosaceus). a, the adult animal and shell ; h, a young shell before the mouth is reflected ; the moulh is represented as sealed with the parchment- like metnhrane which shuts in the animal during hybernation ; c, one of the egjs broken, discovering a young shell ; d, an egg unbroken. The adult shell is roughish ; the apex and upper whorls are of a rose colour in fine specimens ; the other whorls brownish, mottled longitudinally with dirty white ; suture crenulated ; lip white ; epider- mis greenish. This species is found in South America; Mr. Cu- ming observed numbers during the dry season ad- hering to the under side of stones among bushes, close lo the edge of the shore, sometimes even within reach of the spray. He also met with them on hills of a thousand feet above the sea, concealed between the lower leaves of an aloe-like plant, on the honey of whose flowers the giant humming-bird (Trochilus Gigas) is accustomed to feed. •' The natives burn down clumps of these plants for the sake of the rings at the bottom of the footstalks of the leaves, which they use as buoys for their fishing- nets, and for baking the coarse earthenware which they make on the hills, because this part of the plant when ignited throws out a great heat. Be- tween these leaves the bulimi lie in the dry season in a torpid state. In the spring (viz. September and October) they burrow in the shady places at the roots of this plant, and among the bushes on the sea-shore. At this period they lay their eggs in the earth, about two inches below the surface."^ During their hybernation, so strong is the parchmeni-like epiphragma, and so tenaciously does it adhere to the stones, that the shell will often break in the endeavour to detach the animal before the membrane will yield. On Chili and the neighbouring coasts this species is very common, and was found there by Captain Philip Parker King, R.N., who pub- lished m the ' Zoological Journal ' (vol. v. p. 342) the following account of the remarkable power which this snail pos,sesses of existing for months in a dormant slate :— " Soon atUr the return of the ex- pedition (his Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, Survey 1826 30), my friend Mr. Broderip, to whose in.spection Lieutenant Graves had submitted his collection, observing symptoms of life in some of the shells of this species, took means for reviving ' the inhabitants from their dormant state, and sue" ceeded. After they had protiiided their bodies, they were placed upon some green leaves (cabbage),' which they fastened upon and ate greedily. These animals had been in this slate for seventeen or eighteen months; and five months subsequently another was found alive in my collection, so that the last has been nearly two years dormant. These shells were sent to Mr. Loddiges's nursery, where they lived for eight months in the palm-house, when they unfortunately died within a few days of each other. Soon after the shells were first deposited at Mr. Loddiges's one got away and escaped detection for several months, until it was at last discovered in a state of hybernation ; it was removed to the place where the others were kept, when it died also. The upper surface of the animal when in health is va- riegated with ruddy spots and streaks on an ash- coloured ground.' The only process used for re- vivilying these animals was placing them on a plate near a moderate fire, and sprinkling them with tepid water. Upon their restoration, they ate a consider- able part of the parchment-like seal or operculum They lived some time with Mr. Broderip before they were sent to Mr. Loddisres. These animals had been packed up in a box and enveloped in cotton from the time of their capture to the period mentioned, when they were unpacked by Mr Broderip. Mr. Lyell notices this circumstance when treating on the geographical distribution of tes- tacea, in the third volume of his ' Principles of Geology.' 2619. — The Blood-lippkd Bulinus (Bulinus Iieenmstoma). Referring to the figure— a represents the Egg ; b, the Egg-shell broken, showing the young animal with its shell in situ ; c, the SheFl of a young one just after exclusion from the egg- ' d, the Shell at a more advanced age, but before the' lip is reflected ; e, the adult Shell. , This species is found in the brakes of St. Vincent and of the Antilles generally; it exists also, accord- ing to the Rev. Lansdown Guilding, in Equinoctial America also. The young shell is semi-transparent but becomes opaque as it advances in age. The adult shell is brown, strongly striated or wrinkled longitudinally with a rose-coloured mouth • epider- mis brown. An allied species, the Bulinus ovalis, but of con- siderably larger size, from Rio, lived for some time in a hot-house in the Horticultural Gardens at Chis- wick, and laid three eggs. T,.',',- "'** ,b™"Kht over in October, 1828, bv Mr William M'Culloch, then gardener to the Right Hon. Robert Gordon, and presented by him to the Horticultural Society. At first it appeared rather sickly, but after it had been kept in the hot-house for some time it recovered and began to move about. Mr. Booth, who was on the spot, says " It cannot now be correctly ascertained when it' pro- duced the first egg, but it was very shortly after its arnval: I should think about the beginning of November. This egg was sent, by the desire of Mr. Sabine, to the Zoological Society. About the same time this year (1820) it produced a second egg, and, three weeks afterwards, a third : the latter was unfortunately broken by the animal itself, but he lormer is still i„ preservation. It fed upon lettuces and he tender leaves of cabbages • the former seemed to be its favourite food. Sometimes It would devour two large lettuces, and then re- main for days afterwards without touching ibod or moving liom its place, except when cold water was ' sprinkled upon it. During the day it was usually in a dormant state in the shade ; but towards the evening, when the house was moist and warm it would spread itself out, and move from one part' to another. It seemed to like moisture, and I have no doubt tliat it might have been preserved for years If It had not been accidentally kdled. On Saturday last It was at the end of the house where the fire comes in, and ventured too far upon the hot bricks alter they had been watered. In the mornine it was found fixed to them and quite dead." f Zool Journal,' vol. v. p. 102.) 2620.— The THBEE-nANDKu Bulimllus (Bulimulus trifasciiUus). Bulimus Guadaloupensis, I "^L '^^""* Bulimulus, established by Dr. Leach, difl-ers from Bulinus principally in the dehcacy of the outer lip. " The three-banded Bulimulus is a very common species in the West Indies, varying considerably in colour; and it is remarkable that it occure im- bedded in the limestone of the " grande terre " of Guadaloupe, which enc^loses fossil human skeletons, of which one is in the British Museum. Respecting these skeletons, Mr. Lyell (' Principles of Geology') says, that " several, more or less mutilated, have been found in the West Indies, on the north-west coast of the main land of Guadaloupe, in a kind of rock which is known to be forming daily, and which consists of minute fragments of shells and corals, incrusted with a calcareous cement resembling travertin, by which also the different grains are bcund together. The lens shows that some of the Iragments ol coral composing this stone still retain the same red colour which is seen in the reefs of iving coral which surround the island. The shells belong to the neighbouring sea, intermixed with some terrestrial kinds, which now live on the island and among them is Bulimus Guadaloupensis." There IS another human skeleton from the same rock in the Museum at Paris. M. Konig has published an interesting paper on the skeleton in the British Museum in the ' Philosophical Transactions." 2621.— The Uwdulated Plekocheilos (Plecocheilus imdulatus). Shell and Animal. The Rev. Lansdown Guilding, who founded the genus describes the shell as barely umbilicate, dextial, oval, spiral ; the spire elevated but obtuse ; the two last whorls the largest, and ventricose ; aperture entire and elongated ; columella with a single plait ; lip thickened. This elegant species abounds in immense num- bers in the forests of St. Vincent, and generally emerges from its retreat on the approach of evening, but is not unfrequently to be seen abroad during the day. The shell is stout, plaited longitudinally, and indistinctly striated transversely. The general colour is ferruginous chestnut, with oblique brown undulated bands. The body of the snail is oliva- ceous, pallid beneath. In young specimens, as was observed by the Rev. Lansdown Guilding, the shell is wiihout stria,', diaphanous, prettily corroded on the surface, with simple lips. Old shells are covered with a thick brown epidermis. The eggs are ag- glutinated to the leaves of the Tillandsicp, which Irom holding water secure a damp atmosphere at all times. Fig. 2622 represents the shell of Plecocheiliis undulatus in two views : at Fig. 2623, a is a Young Shell of the same ; b, an Egg magnified ; c, the same the natural size; d, Apex of Nucleus of Shell en- larged. 2624. — The Megaspiba (Megaspira Buschenbergiana). According to Mr. Lea this form is closely allied to Bulinus and Pupa. It is a terrestrial shell, remarkable for the produc- tion of its spire, which consists of twenty-three close- set, narrow, gradually increasing whorls ; and the outer lip is reflected. The mollusk is unknown : colour of shell brownish, with darker spots. Family LIAIN^ID/E (LIMN^A, PLAN- ORBiS, &c.). The mollusks of this family are the tenants of fresh watei-s, either stagnant, or with a gen'le cur- rent, coming up to the surface for the purpose of respiration In such brooks as that represented at Fig. 262.5, abounding in aquatic plant.s and gliding smoothly along, they exist in va.st numbers. They have only two tentacles, according to Mr. Gainer (' Linn. Trans.,' vol. xvii. p. 403). The plan- orbis respires both air and water. In this family Cuvier places a shell-less group (onchidium), most of the species of which live at the margin of the sea, alternately covered and left dry by the tide. 2626. — The Hoent Planobbis (P/anorbis Cornells'). In the genus Planorbis the animal is elongated, compressed, slender, and very strongly rolled up ; head furnished with two ten- Auricula] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 199 tac-Ies, vvliii-h are contractile, setaceous, very long, and oculaled at their internal base ; mouth tin nished superiorly with a crescent-shaped tooth, and below with a lingual mass armed with small hooks, and surmounted by a sort of veil which is short and notched ; foot oval and rather short ; respiratory orifice on the lelt, upon the collar. Shell rather delicate, sinistral, very much rolled or coiled up on the same plane ; concave on each side, the spire re-entrant (renfrant); aperture rounded with a sharp border, and interrupted by the convexity of the whorl which precedes it. (Rang.) Mr. Sowerby remarks, that the principal pecu- liarity in this genus appears to him to consist in the fact, that the shells are what are called reversed; a fact doubted by some who have described them as umbilicated above. A careful examination of many of the species, in a living state, satisfied Mr. Sower- by, that these animals carry their shells in a di- rection opposite to that of the turbinated molhisks generally, and that the heart is placed on the right side, and the respiratory orifice on the left, exactly the reverse of their position in most others; but he farther observes, the knowledge of the animal is not necessary to prove this, as the shell itself carries the demonstration, it being only needful to observe on which side of the shell the very apex of the spire is to be seen ; if we take that side for the upper, in conformity with the strict rules of analogy, it will be evident that the aperture is on the left- hand side. We may add that we have now before us a number of shells of Planorbis. in which the mouth turns obliquely to the left, and on that side the apex of the spire is visible ; hence is the shell sinis- tral. This, ho tvever, is denied by some naturalists, and especially M. Deshayes, who contends that the shells are dextral, even those which the most esteemed authors had judged to be sinistral IVora the depth of the umbilicus on the right side. He, in- deed, admits, that with respect to the position of the heart on the right, and the pulmonary orifice, &c. on the left, as L'uvier has remarked, the animal is sinis- trally organized, but he affirms that the other vis- cera are placed as usual, whence he regards the raollusk as really dextral, like Helix, and he adds, "thus the observations of M. Desmoulins explain how in the genus Planorbis appearances place a sinistral animal in a dextral shell, and how in reality the animal is dextral as well as its shell," there being no derangement of organs, excepting with re- gard to the heart and the orifices. The Planorbis corneus (Helix corneus, Linn.) is the largest European species, and is found in slug- gish streams, stagnant waters, deep drainage courses, &c. We have lound it common about Reading, and it is, we believe, plentiful about Oxford. We have taken it in the neighbourhood of Hammersmith, in deep clear ditches, where the water-newt was plentilul. Montagu, as well as others, have observed that this species yields a very beautiful purple dye, but all attempts to fix it, by means of acids or astringents, have hiiherto proved inefi'ectual. The shell is opaque, of a horny brown colour, with the whorls transversely striated. In fine specimens, the mouth is tinged with pale violet or lilac. 2627. — The Keeled Pi,anorbis {Planorbis carinntus). This species, which is re- markably flat and thin, has the outer edge finely keeled : the colour of the shell is brown. It is very abundant in fresh water, either running or stagnant ; the mollusk is of a slender figure, with long tentacles. Referring to Fig. 2627 : a repre- sents the Shell and Animal of Planorbis carinatus ; 6, a mass of the Eggs of Planorbis corneus on a leaf. 2628.— The Common Physa ^PhysafontiiicUia:). In the genus Physa the shell is generally sinistral, of an oval or elongated figure, sometimes nearly globular, smooth, delicate, and Tery fragile. The aperture is oval ; the edge of the light lip sharp. The genus is very extensive, species occurring in the fresh waters of the four quarters of the globe. The Physa fontinalis is found in the fresh waters of England and the adjacent continent, inhabiting sluggish streams and stagnant waters : we have found it not unfrequently on the under side of the leaves ofthe water-cress and other plants. The shell is smooth, diaphanous, and of a yellowish horn colour ; the spine is short and rather pointed. Col. Montagu, who gives a description of this species, states, that when in motion it covers a great part Ofthe shell with a thin pinnated membrane, thrown out on the right side, extending quite behind and I)artly on the left side, covering the smaller volu- tions: this membrane (mantle) is, he says, very deeply divided, or digitated, the points of which meet and sometimes intersect on the back of the shell, and it is so transparent as scarcely to be distin- guished but by the assistance of a glass. The foot he describes as long and narrow, and the foramen on the lett side, " as must be the case with all the animals of this kind inhabiting heterostrophe shells." Col. Montagu concludes his remarks on this species as follows: "It has a very considerable locomotive power, and transports itself by adhering to the sur- face of the water, with the shell downwards : against which it crawls with as much apparent ease as on a solid body ; and will sometimes let itself down gradually by a thread affixed to the surface of the water, in the manner of the Limax filans (' Linn. Tr-ans.' iv., 85, t. 8), from the branch of a tree. The property of crawling underwater, against its surface, is not wholly confined to this species ; but we know of no other testaceous animal capable of suspending itself under water in the same way.* It has the power of throwing its shell about in an extraordinary manner, either in defence or to remove obstructions, continuing at the same time fixed by its foot. Pro- bably this singular motion is sometimes occasioned by a minute species of Hirudo (Gordius inquilinus, Miill., Verm.), which infests this and many other fresh-water testaceous animals ; twenty or more may be seen adhering to its sides like slender white filaments." Fig. 2629 exhibits an allied species. Physa Hypnorum : a, the Animal and Shell ; &, the Mass of Eggs, natural size ; c, the same, magnified. The eggs of the Physa invested in a gelatinous medium are very common on the leaves or stalks of the water-cress. 2630. — ^The Common Limn^ea {LimntEa stagnalis). In the genus Limnaea the animal is of an oval form, more or less spiral ; head furnished with two flattened triangular tentacles, carrying the eyes at their base, on the internal side ; mouth furnished with an upper piece for mastica- tion, surmounted by a soit of very short veil ; foot oval, bilobated anteriorly, narrowed posteriorly ; orifice of the pulmonary cavity on the right side, on the collar, in form of a furrow, and capable of being covered by a fleshy appendage which borders it below. Shell delicate, fragile, of an oval oblong, with a spire more or less sharp and elongated, and an aperture longer than it is wide, oval, sometimes very large, with a sharp edge, not continuous, on account of the convexity of the preceding whorl ; on the columella an oblique plait. M. Deshayes observes (last edition of Lamarck) that the animal of Limnaea presents peculiar cha- racters. On the head are two triangular tentacles very much enlarged at the base, and having the eyes rather projecting on the upper and internal part of that base. The head is large and flattened, separated from the foot by a shal low furrow. The foot inclines to oval, terminated in a point poste- riorly, and is delicate and flattened on the sides. The mantle, closed anteriorly and narrow, forms a sort of collar-, as in the Helices. There is a great cavity behind its border. The upper wall of this cavity, delicate and transparent, is covered on its internal srrrface by a very well developed vascular net-work destined for respiration. The limnaea is abundant in still or sluggish fresh waters, where it feeds on aquatic plants, up the stems of which it creeps, coming up to the surlace for the purpose of respiration. We have often seen them floating in the reversed position like the Physa; they have, in fact, when so situated the power of locomotion, and may be observed moving their ventral disc, as if crawling along some solid surface, whereas it only acts on the water, of which the sur- face offers sufficient resistance to the vermiform movements of the disc, to enable the mollusk to work its way. The eggs are very numerous and enveloped in a mass of glairy gelatine of an elon- gated ibrm ; they are deposited on stones, or on the leaves or stems of vegetables. The shell is very delicate, and pellucid; the spire is produced and conical. The external colour is brown, but the shell is often covered with a sort of greenish or greyish green calcareous deposit, varying in thickness, as in many specimens now before us ; the cause of this deposit we are unable to explain. The same occurs on Limnsea auricularia. Fig. 26.31 represents the Animal and Eggs of Limnaea stagnatilis : a, the Ani- mal and Shell ; b, the mass of Eggs magnified. 2632. — The Sprkadiso Limnaea (LimncM auricuhr'ta). This species, distinguished by the shortness of its spine, the capacity of the last whorl, and the extent of the spreading mouth, is common in the same localities as the last species, which it resembles in habits and manners. Fossil specimens of Physa, Planorbis, and Limnaea occur in considerable abundance in fresh-water tertiary formations of Europe ; but the number of • Tlie Liptopa, a marine shell mollusk, is said to have a similar power. distinct species does not appear to be very clearly made out. Mr. Lea, in his ' Contributions to Geology' (Svo. Philadelphia, 1833), notices the tufaceous lacustrine formation of Syracuse, Onandaga county. New York. He found the substratum which lined the side ol the canal to consist of a calcareous marl of a whitish colour, bordering on that of ashes, friable, and rather soft to the touch. A subsequent analysis by Pro- fessor Vanuxem proved it to be nearly pure carbo nate of lime. Numerous perfect specimens of the genera Limnaea, Physa, Paludina, and Ancylus were obtained, all being analogous to the species inhabit- ing at that time the fresh waters of that region ; and Mr. Lea states that it was evident that the deposit was caused by the drainage of the lake. The spe- cimens were found to be completely bleached, and were generally in an unbroken state. " A lacus- trine formation of so recent a nature," says Mr-. Lea in continuation, " as this appears fo be, is not, I believe, of frequent occurrence. It is the result, however, of one of those causes which are now in action; and another instance might be mentioned, in which the effect of this cause, though striking, has not advanced to that period when it would make a finished deposit : I mean the small lake, or pond, in Sussex county, New Jersey, well known by the descriptive name of Milk Pond.* Here countless myriads of bleached shells of the families Lymn^ana and Peristomiana, analogous to the species now in- habiting the adjacent waters, line and form the shores of the whole circumference of the lake, to the depth and breadth of many fathoms. Not having visited this interesting lake myself, I repeat what has been communicated to me by intelligent scien- tific friends who have examined it, and on whose report the most implicit reliance may be placed. Such is the quantity of bleached shells now remain- ing there, that thousands of tons of these small species, in a state of perfect whiteness, could be ob- tained if any useful purpose required the removal of them. For agricultural purposes this mass might prove of great utility. One friend, I remember, mentioned to me that he had obtained a sharp pointed pole, which he inserted ten or twelve feet perpendicularly into the mass, on the shore, near to the edge of the water, without its having passed through it. As far as can be ascertained, this mass seems to form the whole basin of the lak£, and it may at some future and perhaps not far distant period form a tufaceous lacustrine deposit similar to that of Syracuse." Family AURICULAD/E (AURICULA, MELAMPUS, &c.). 2633.— MiDAs's Ear (Auricula Midee). The genus Auricirla differs from those of the preceding aquatic air-breathing mol- lusks in the columella of the shell being marked with decided oblique channels (canelures). The figure of the shell is oval or oblong; the mouth longitudinal, with a reflected lip, or simple. Cuvier says, " we are not certain if these animals live in marshes, as the Limnaea, or only on their borders, as the Succrneae " (Helix pntris, Linn.). One species exists in France along the borders of the Mediterra- nean (A. myosotis). A writer on conchology observes, "The probability is that the auricula lives in the neighbourhood of rivers, lakes, or mo- rasses, and that its respiratory .system, though formed for breathing air, is so framed as to enable it to sus- tain any vicissitudes which such a locality might render likely to occur." The Auricula Midae is said to be a native of the East Indies ; Lamarck names the Moluccas as also among its localities. It is a handsome shell, and well known to collectors under the name of Midas's ear. 2634. — The Cone-shaped Melampus (Melampus coniform'is). As in Auricula, the shells of the genus Melampus have salient folds on their columella, but the external lip of the opening has no roll, and is finely striated. The general contour of the shell is that of a cone, of which the spire forms the base. The genus Melampus of De Mont- fort is identical with Conovnlus of Lamarck. The Cone-shaped Melampus is found in the rivers of the Antilles Islands. ORDER NUDIBRANCHIATA. The molhisks of this order are not enclosed in or protected by shells ; they have no pulmonary cham- ber, but the branchise or organs of respiration are seated on some part ofthe upper surface, freely ex- posed to the water. All are bisexual and marine. Many species have the habit of swimming reversed, with the foot, which is concave like a boat, at the surface of the water, and they further assist them- * From the milky appearance of ihe waters near the shore, caused by the mass of bleached shells deposited there. In tjordons map ol New Jersey it is named White I'oud. (Lea.) 2«3 — Vidu't Ear. 2e2S.—lUrl cuff and Crook. 3431 .- Umnaia •tagnatilb, and Elgs. 2«:9.— Iliysa Hxpnonoi. 2C34. -Conc-shnped Mi^liunpus. S«2?.— KeeM nmortii. 2628.— Comnion Physa. 2C ^2. —Spreading Llir.nara. :Sa »30.-Comta oan. . A» example* of ihi* eroup we may mention Don*. Polyeera. Tethy». I-anio)jerii», &c. Of the general a»pect ol these raolliwk*, commonly called »ea-»lug8, our pictorial upecimen* will convey a clear idea. 2635.— The Hob-nki) Dobw (Dorii cormula). Polyeera comiila. CuV. The iubgenera upon which the genus Dons, a term originally applied by Unnieus to a single specie*, is subdivided, are several, depending upon minor peculiarities. , ^ • ^ .u In the present species (Polyeera of Cuvier), the branchiie, in the form of projcctine foliated branches, are disposed as usual in a circle, at the posterior part of the body, and followed by two membranous llrips which cover them when danger threatens. The anterior edge of the mantle projects in the form of strnp-like proloneations symmetrically disposed. Referring to Fig. 2t»'>, a represents the animal as seen from above ; 6, as seen from below ; c, a side »iew. 2636.— Tub Flat Dobis (Doris Soled). In this form the body is extremely depressed, the anterior border of the mantle is simple, and the branchise assume the shape of a foliated star at the posterior part of the body. 2637. — The Jagged Dobis (Dorit laeera). In this form the body is convex above, with tuberculous eminences, club-like ten- tacles, and (he branchiae in a circle of tufts at the posterior part of the body. 2638. — Leach's Doris (Onchldoris Leachii). It is only on certain anatomical points that this genus is separated from Doris. The tentacula are four, besides labial ap- pendages: a, side view of the mollusk; b, under- neath view. 2639. — ^The Pekonia {Peronia Mauritiana). A slug-like mollusk, with the branchisB nearl;; retiform in a cavity situated i at the posterior region of the back; and opening externally by a round mesial orifice pierced at the inferior and posterior part of the borders of the mantle. M. Blainville observes that this genus ■contains the marine onchidia of Cuvier. of which four or tive species are known from the southern hemisphere. fluvier, we may add, regards the onchidia (genus onchiJium) as forming part of the pulmoniferous gastropods; but M. de Blainville refers the genus to the same family as that contain- ing the Doris. Cuvier, commenting on this view of De Blainville, says, " I cannot perceive any real difference between the respiratory organ of Onchidium, or Peronia, and that of the other pulmoniferous moUusks." a, side view of Peronia ; b, the under surface or foot. 2640.— The Ptebosoma. (Pterosotnd). M. Lesson established the genus Pterosoma on a single species of mollusk which he discovered in great abundance in the equatorial seas between the Moluccas and New Guinea, where it was seen swimming about with great celerity. The animal is gelatinous, transparent, elongated, cylindrical and convex in the middle : the body lies between two lateral swimming membranes, one on each side ; these are delicate and horizontal, originating at the tail and continuing in an oval form beyond the head, where they unite in front of the mouth ; the anterior border is thicker than the posterior, which is narrowed and thin ; the mouth is simple, there are no tentacles, the eyes are sessile, ubiong, and approximated to each other. So trans- parent is the body that the internal viscera may be seen through its substance. The branchi» do not appear to have been detected, but it is not impro- bable that the swimming membranes may serve the purpose of those aerating organs. 2641. — The Laniogebus {Laniogerus El/ortii, Blainville). This animal is closely allied to the Glaucus, and the genus was established by M. de Blainville on an individual in the British Museum. M. Rang remarks that its figure recalls the appearance of Glauci preserved in spirits of wine, which, having become swollen, as is usually the case after death, have also at the same time lost some of their branchial cirrhi. There are two pairs of tentacles ; the head is dis- tinct, the mouth subterminal ; on each side of the body are the branchise, forming a series of soft laminee finely pectinated. Referring to Fig. 2641, a represents the mouth ; b, the branchial cirrhi. 2642.— The Glalccs (Oiaucua hezapterygitu). This brilliant sea-slug, common in the Mediterranean and extensive^ spread through the wide ocean, is distinguished for tne beauty of its colours, azure blue and silvery white being the predominating lints. It swims in a reversed position with great quickness. The general characters are as follow :— Texture gelatinous, form elongated, slightly flattened, and terminating in a point ; foot very narrow and almost rudimentary ; nead distinct, furnished with four very short flattened and triangular tentacles, mouth subterminal ; branchite disposed in pairs on the sides and fitted for swimming, consisting of oblong processes sur- rounded by digitated appendages. The species, says Cuvier, are not as yet well distinguished. M. Deshayes in his edition (1836) of Lamarck remarks that, notwithstanding the researches of several accomplished naturalists, there still exists great uncertainty with respect to many points in the anatomy of this genus. The description of M. de Blainville, he observes, leaves doubts concerning the organs of respiration ; nor is it, he adds, certain that the digitations of the fins are branchise ; indeed he is inclined to believe"that they are not; and he quotes the observations of M. Quoy, who affirms that these digitations are very caducous in the living animal, which detaches them when they are touched ; and he argues that it is scarcely credible that this would take place were these parts actually destined for so important a function as that of respiration. M. Deshayes therefore insists upon the necessity of new researches upon the organization of these curious animals. He considers, moreover, that one species only is as yet known, of which most of the figures published are very inexact, with the exception of that given by MM. Quoy and Gaimard ('Voy. de I'Astrol. Zool.,' t. 2, pt. 26), which, he says, conveys a good idea of this elegant mollusk. The following account of a species of Glaucus, by Mr. J. C. Lees, was read at one of the scientific meetings of the Zool. Soc, accompanied by a draw- ing of the animal referred to : — " Being at sea about two years ago, between the Azores and the Bahama Islands, in about lat. 30^ N., long. 50° W., I observed the surface of the sea thickly covered in every direction, as far as I could see. with small animals. Having drawn up some of them in a bucket, I found them to have bodies and tails nearly resembling those of a lizard, but the head was thick and blunt, without any appearance of a neck. I could not discover either eyes or mouth. Four short arms or limbs were attached to the body, nearly in the same situation as the legs of a lizard, and from the outer end of each of them proceeded in a radiating direction fifteen slender feelers, diminishing to a fine point, the centre ones larger than the others. The animals were of a deep but vivid blue colour, with a bright well-defined line of silver down the back from the head to the extremity of the tail ; this sireak fif silver branched off also into the arms and along each of the feelers, till towards the points it formed so thin a line as to become gradually imperceptible. The under part of the animals was of a silvery white ; their appear- ance was very beautiful : they were about one inch and a half long from the front of the head to the end of the tail, and about the same across, from the extremities of the longest of the opposite feelers. The water continued covered with them for two days, during which time we sailed over about one hundred miles ; the number of them must, therefore, have been prodigious. They remained perfectly quiet on the water, except when touched, when they either partially or entirely drew themselves up into a ball. They could in this manner draw up either one or more feelers, or the whole limb with its fifteen. They did not appear to notice the approach of a finger or piece of stick until it actually touched them, and then did not attempt to swim away, but only drew up the part touched with a sudden and apparently angry jerk of the head. If the touch was violent or repeated, they drew themselves entirely up in a globular form, and the same thing occurred wrien they came in contact with each other. I endeavoured to preserve some of them alive by keeping them in sea-water, but in three or four days they all died, and immediately shrunk up into a shapeless mass of a brown colour. I was equally unsuccessful in my endeavour to preserve them in spirits, in strong salt and water, or in vinegar ; the instant they were introduced into those liquids they shrivelled up into a browinish shapeless mass." (' Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' April 23, 1833.) In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc' for 1836, p. 113 et seq., is the following interesting paper on the Glaucus by Mr. G. Bennett, detailing the results of his personal observations : — "On the 20th of April, 1835, during a voyage from England to Sydney, New South Wales, in latitude 4" 26' N., and longitude 19° 30' W., with light airs and calms prevailing at the time, about 3 p. M., a number of damaged and perfect specimens of the Glaucus hexapterygius, Cuvier, were caught in the towing net. On being immediately removed fVom the net and placed in a glass of sea-water. they resumed their vital actions and floated about in the liquid element, exhibiting a brillianiy of colour and peculiarity of form which did not fail to excite the admiration of the beholders. "The back of the animal, as well as the upper surface of the fins and digitated processes, and the upper poition of the head and tail, was of a vivid purple colour, varying occasionly in its intensity ; appearing brighter in colour when the animal was active or excited, and deeper when remaining floating tranquilly upon the surface of the water. The abdomen, and under surface of the fins, are of a, beautiful pearly white colour, appearing as if it had been enamelled. The usual length of my specimens, measured from the extremity of the head to the tail, when extended floating upon the surface of the water, was If inches; sometimes one or two lines more or less. The body of the animal is subcylindrical, terminating in a tail, which ara- dually becomes more slender towards the extremity, until it finally terminates in a delicate point. The head is short, with very small conical tentacula in pairs ; two superior, and two inferior ; three (and in G. octopterygius, Cuvier, four) branchial fins on each side, opposite, palmated, and digitated at their extremities; the number of digitations, however, varying; and the centre digitations are the longest; the first branchial fins, those nearest the head, are larger and denser than the others. The mouth is armed with bony jaws ; the body is gelatinous, and covered by a thin and extremely sensible membrane. "These little animals were very delicate and fragile in their structure, and although many, indeed I may say numbers, were caught, yet very few in comparison were found to be in a perfect condition, some being deficient in one, two, or more fins, and others being completely crushed. Not one of the specimens caught on this occasion, or during the voyage, had the silvery line or streak running down the back, from the head to the ex- tremity of the tail ; branching off also to the fins and along the centre of each of the digitations. Several Porpitae were also captured in the net at the same time with these animals, and serve as food for them. " It caused much regret to see the change death produced in the beauty of these interesting little animals, and all means of preserving them were found to be useless. When placed in spirits, the digits of the branchial fins speedily became re- tracted, the beautiful purple gradually faded and at last disappeared, and the delicate pearly white of the under surface of the body and fins peeled off and disappeared ; thus did this beautiful mollusk become decomposed in less than the space of an hour. Some moDusks quickly lose their colour after death, but retain their form lor a long time; but these speedily change after death both in form and colour, and the beauty before so much admired perishes never to be regained. " When taken in the hand, the under surface of the animal soon becomes denuded of the beautiful pearly white it previously had, and at that time appears like a small transparent bladder, in which a number of air-bubbles are observed, together with the viscera. On the abdomen being laid open, a large quantity of air-bubbles escaped ; and perhaps a query may arise how far they assist the animal in floating upon the surface of the water? " The figure of Glaucus hexapterygius in Cuvier's work ' Sur les Mollusques,' is tolerably well executed, but no engraving can convey to the beholder the inconceivable delicacy and beauty of this mollusk ; in the engraving alluded to there is an inaccuracy, at least as compared with the specimens before nie, — in the digitated processes of the fins not being sufficiently united at the base ; in the living specimens before me they were united together at the base, and then branching off became gm- dually smaller until they terminated in a fine point. " But few of these animals were caught after the 20lh until the 24th of the same month, in latitude 2" 26' N., longitude 19= 51' W., when, having light airs from S. by E., nearly calm in the morning, a great number were seen floating by the ship, and it was not difficult, by aid of my lowing net, to cap- ture as many as 1 required, lor they swam very superficially upon the water. The whole of those taken proved to be of the same species (G. hexap- terygius) as those before caught. I again placed several of the specimens in a glass of sea-water; they were full of life, sometimes moving about, not very briskly, however,- — and at other times remain- ing floating upon the surface of the water, merely gently moving the fins. As they floated upon the surface of the water in the glass, the sides of the head, back, tail, fins, &c., exjiibited at the time a light silvery blue colour, which was admirably contrasted with the deeper blue of the upper sur- face, and falling into the elegant pearly or silvery white of the under surface of the animal, display- ing an exceedingly rich and eleeant appearance. Tethys.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 203 Often, when at rest, the animal would drop one or more of the fins, but on touching them they would be immediately raised to the former position, and that organ was turned back as if to throw otf the offending object, followed at the same time by a general movement of the whole body. On touch- ing the animal upon the back, it eeemed to display more sensitiveness in that than in any other part of the body, judging from the effects produced, in comparison with similar experiments on other por- tions of the body; for instance, the centre of the back was touched lightly and rapidly with a. feather : which caused the little creature to sink as if under the pressure of the touch, throwing at the same time the head, tail, and all the fins upwards, followed by a general distortion of the whole body of the animal, as if the gentle touch had been pro- ductive of severe pain. I invariably found every part of the upper surface of the body very sensitive when touched, and displayed a general movement of uneasiness throughout the whole of the body of the creature. "These creatures have a peculiar manner of throwing the head towards the tail, and flouncing the tail towards the head, when they are desirous of removing any object of annoyance. It is at that time these animals seem to recover from their torpidity, and evince the greatest activity in their movements. When much annoyed, they throw the body about with great activity, coiling up the head, tail, fins, &c., in a somewhat rotundilbrm position ; and if the tormenting object is not removed, dash out again in full activity of body, then return to the rotundilbrm position, and there remain for a short period apparently exhausted by their efforts. But on the cessation of the irritating cause, the animal quietly resumed its original position, perhaps dropping one or two of its wearied fins according as its own sensations of ease or comfort might dictate. " When nothing irritated this tender moUusk, it ■would remain tranquilly floating upon the surface of the water with scarcely any movement but that which proceeded from the undulating movements of the digitated extremities of the fins, as well as an occasional slight twisting motion of the same organs. " I felt much interest in the beautiful display of a circulating fluid on the dorsal surface of these animals, which was afforded me by the assistance of a microscope. Through the semi-transparent membrane of the back, a fluid could be readily perceived close to the surface, evidently flowing m two directions, one taking a course downwards, and the other returning upwards ; but I was unable to distinguish two distinct vessels for these sepaiate actions. "These animals seemed to be very torpid in their movements, although sometimes, when float- ing upon the water, they would be seen busily engaged in moving their fins about; but those actions were soon suspended, and their fins were suffered to hang lazily down, as if fatigued with the short exertion, which did not move them one I inch about the glass of water ; and even when the little indolent creatures did take the trouble to move themselves from one side of the glass to the other, it was eff'ected by a tardy motion, stirring themselves first with one fin and then with the other, according as circumstances might require. " I placed some small specimens of Porpita in the glass of water containing the Glauci, to observe it they would attack them : for some time one of the Glauci was close to a Porpita, and was even annoyed by the tentacula of the latter touching its back, yet the Glaucus bore this, although with the usual characters of impatience, yet without attempting to attack it. At last it seized the Porpita between its jaws, and by aid of a powerful lens, an excellent opportunity was afforded me of closely watching the devouring process, which was effected by an apparently sucking motion ; and at this time all the digitated processes of the fins were floating about, as at other times when the animal was at rest ; but I did not observe, in one single instance, that they were of any use to the animal, either to aid in the capture or to securely hold their prey when in the act of being devoured ; for the animal seems to depend merely upon the mouth in capturing its prey, as in this and other instances, which I had opportunities of observing, they seized their prey instantly with the mouth, and held it by that power alone, whilst by a kind of sucking motion the prey was devoured. The digitations may therefore only be regarded as appendages to the fins to aid the animal perhaps m the direction of its movements, as it was observed that they turned and twisted them about during the progressive motion (that is, when this tardy animal is pleased to progress, which appeared to me very rarely to meet with its inclina- tion), as if in some way or other to direct the move- ments of the animal. "The Glaucus, after eating the tentacles and Vol II. nearly the whole of the soft under surface of its prey, lelt the horny portion, and remained tran- quilly reposing upon the surface of the water after its meal, the only motion visible in the animal being the playing of the digits of its fins. The mutilated remains of the Porpita sank to the bottom of the glass. " Soon after, another Glaucus began a devouring attack upon another Porpita which had been placed in the glass, eating a little of it, and then ceasing after a short meal, occasionally renewing the attack at short intervals. On examining the Porpita, which had been partially devoured by the ravenous Glaucus, I found the disc had been cleared of the tentacles and other soft parts ; a small part of the fleshy portion only remaining upon the disc. Only one part of the horny disc exhibited any injury, and that appeared to be the place where the animal was first grasped by the Glaucus. " When any of these animals came in contact with another in the glass, they did not display any annoyance, nor coil themselves up, nor did they evince any savage propensities one towards the other ; and they would often float about, having their digitated processes in contact one with the other, without exhibiting any signs of annoyance ; even when placed or pushed one against the other, they did not manifest any irritation, but remained jj undisturbed as in their usual moments of quiet repose. "On the back of the animal being seen in a strong light, a black line could be discerned on each margin, and passing down the centre of each fin, and sometimes varied in having two black lines on the upper part of one fin, although the opposite fin may display but one. " The margin between the falling of the purple colour of the back into the silvery white of the abdomen often exhibited beautiful tints of a golden green ; but these variations were probably produced by the effect of different rays of light. " These animals soon perished ; I could not pre- serve them for any length of time in the glass of sea water, although the water was changed as often as it was thought necessary ; the digitated pro- cesses of the fins were observed to shrink up on the death of the animal, and the process of decomposi- tion rapidly took place, the whole body becoming a shapeless mass, having a bluish colour of deadly hue for a short period, and then became of a black- ish or brownish black colour. I have seldom seen a gelatinous animal which appeared so firm whilst in the water, that proved so speedily to decompose when removed from it ; even the beautiful purple of the back, the silvery or enamel of the abdomen, and the silvery blue of the sides, all speedily vanish, indeed instantly disappear, upon the death of the animal, as if it had been washed off; the expansive, delicate, and beautiful fins and digitated processes are no longer seen ; they shrank up to nothing. " Even on taking the animal alive out of the water and placing it upon the hand, that instant almost, from its extreme delicacy, it was destroyed : the digitations of the fins fell oft', the least move- ment destroyed the beauty of the animal : it speedily lost all the deep purple and silvery enamelled tints, and became a loathsome mass. Thus do we too often find animals beautiful in external adornments, curious in their habits and organization, and cal- culated in every respect to supply us with inex- haustible sources of intellectual gratification, doomed speedily to perish ; brief is the period allotted to them in the busy theatre of animated existence ; but doubtless, with the gift of existence, they have received from the bounteous hand of their Creator the means of enjoying their fleeting lives. "To place these little animals in the glass of water from the towing net without injury to their delicate structure required care ; so that as soon as they were captured in the net, attached to the meshes, they were not handled, but carefully washed off, which was effected by dipping the meshes in the glass of water, when the animal soon detached itself without sustaining any injury, and floated in the water. " Although these animals are so fragile, so easily destroyed on being taken out of their natural ele- ment, yet they fling themselves about in the water without sustaining any injury, without even the loss of any of the digitated processes of the fins : yet when there is much movement of the water in carrying the glass from one place to another, they are evidently disturbed and restless, and the fins are dropped ; if, therefore, a slight motion of the water disturbs them, what can become of these delicate mol- lusks during tempestuous weather; can they be simi- lar to the delicate ephemeris, doomed to live merely tor the space of a day and perish in myriads ? From the immense number seen only from the ship — and how many myriads more extended beyond our range of vision— it conveyed to the mind some idea of the profusion of living beings inhabiting the wide ex- | panse of ocean, and a feeling of astonishment at the inconceivable variety of forms and construc- tions to which animation has been imparted by creative power. " The tail of this animal has been described as resembling that of a lizard : the comparison is good, not only with regard fo form, but also, with perhaps a little more flexibility of motion, when in action. Sometimes the animal throws its fail up to the body, as if intended to brush off any annoying object, and at other times it has been observed to turn the head towards the side as if for a similar purpose. It seems, in the action of eating, to re- semble a caterpillar "No more of these animals were seen until the 15th of May at 10 p.m. when in lat. 24° 18-5, long. 31° O'-Ol W., moderate breezes and fine weather, a number of Glauci were captured as well as Porpitse ; some of the latter had been partially devoured, and in some only the homy disc remained ; this there was no doubt, from the previous knowledge of the carnivorous propensities of the Glaucus, was theii- work, more especially as we had positive proof that tribes of them were wandering or prowling about the ocean to-night. This was the last time during^ the voyage the Glauci were captured. " From these animals devouring the Porpitse, we had positive evidence of their carnivorous habits, independent of the structure of the jaws; and the tentacula of the Porpitse were no protection against their enemies ; indeed these appendages were first devoured and the horny disc was alone left, in many instances being picked quite clean ; from this cir- cumstance we may infer that the horny disc of the Porpitse and Velella;, which previously, and for the last four days, were found in the net, were the remains of those which had been devoured by the Glauci or similar carnivorous mollusks, among which we may with safety include (from the structure of its jaws, and from often capturing it attached to Velella) the inhabitant of the Janthina fragilis or violet shell. "The more we pursue the investigation of the actions of living objects, the more we see of the unbounded resources of creative power; and, after all our reasoning, must conclude that some wise purpose, though dimly perceptible to our imperfect understandings, is no doubt answered by this great law of organic formation, — the law of variety." Referring to Fig. -2642, a and h are two tubercular- orifices ; c, one of the digitations magnified. 2643. — Cuviek's Eolidia (Eolidia Cuvieri). C'uvier describes the Eolidise as^ having the form of little slugs, with four tentacles above, and two at the sides of the mouth. Their branchiae are laminae or foliations disposed like scales in more or less close array, down each side of the back. They are widely spread through the ocean. According to M. Rang, they do not swira^ but suspend themselves at the surface of the water with the foot uppermost, and move well by means of sudden undulations. Cuvier's Eolidia, the figure of which is magnified, is found in the European seas. 2644. — ^The Cavoi-ixa {Cavolina peregrina). The Cavolina has the ten- tacles as in Eolidia, and the branchioe in the form of filaments placed in transverse rows on the back. The Cavolina peregrina is found in the Mediterranean, but other species exist, some of which are very small, as that brought home by MM. Quoy and Gaimard (' Voy. of the Uranie '). 2645. — The Tekgipes (Tergipes lacinulata). With the general form of Eolidia, there are in Tergipes only two tentacles ; and along each side of the back is a row of bran- chiae of a club-like form, each terminating, according to Cuvier, in a little sucker, and serving as feet, by means of which the animal can crawl in a reversed position. M. Rang doubts the existence of these sucking discs. Tlie figures are magnified : a, seen from above ; b, from below. 2646.— The Tethys (Tethi/s leporitm). In the genus Tethys the bran- chiae consist of two dorsal rows of branched tufts unequal alternately from right to left, and from front to rear : the head is rlistinet, and furnished with a large membranous distinct veil, fringed along the edge, forming a sort of funnel, and leading to the mouth, which terminates a short proboscis. The tentacles are two in number, situated at the base of the veil. The Tethys leporina, which appears to be identical with the Tethys Fimbria, is a native of the Medi- terranean, living far from the shore, on banks of madrepore, or among floating masses of sea-weed. It uses the veil or membranous expansion of the head as a swimming organ. Its colour is grey spotted with white. Referring to Fig. 2646 ; a ex- ^ 2 D 2 . . / L ttrt Romto Melibe. tU6 Hombeig'i Trltoni*. tea-slug, which approxi- mate* to Tethyt, the body i« oomewhat limacilurm, gelatinou*. and trantparent ; tlie head is I'urniithed with a Ciinnel-like vfiI, beset interiorly with cirrhi, directed outwardly, and leading to a mouth termi- nating a small proboscis. Two long slender ten- tacles rise from the base of the veil, each terminated by a small capsule, from the centre of which rises a snort retractile filament. Foot as long as the ani- mal, but narrow, and in the form of a furrow. Branchiie constisting of two series of club-like pro- cesses, which are rounded at their summit, pedicu- lated at their base, and covered with small tubercles. This animal was observed by M. Rang living upon various floating; plants in the seas near the Cape of Good Hope. It swims well by agitating the pos- terior paits of the body from siile to side. A slight touch IS sufficient to cause disengagement of the branchiie, as in the Glaucus. Kel'erring to the figure; b is the veil around the mouth; e, the tentacles; ch^a (Plewobranchtra Mecheli). Pleurobranchidium Meckeh, Blainv. This species, the type of the genus I'leurobranchffia, is a slug-like animal found in the Mediterranean. The head is large, with the mouth prolonged in the form of a proboscis; there are two pairs of tentacles, separated considerably from each other. The foot is very large ; the man- tle, almost obliterated, shows itself along the right side only in a narrow expension of skin, below which is a pectinilorm bianchial foliation. There is no trace of a shell. 2660. — The Pleirobranchcs (^Pleurobranchus). In this genus the general form is slug-like, convex above, with a large spreading mantle, often with a thin calcareous shell developed in its substance. The foot is large and outspread- ing; the head distinct, with a membranous veil, and two tubular tentacles. The mouth is at the ex- tremity of a proboscis, and the branchia;, composed of a double row of lamella?, form a plume along the posterior part of the right side. Referring to Fig. 2660, ft is the veil ; c, the mouth at the extremity of the proboscis ; e, the tentacles ; g, the branchial lamellns ; h and i, two apertures ; *, the mantle ; /, the loot. Many species, some of large size and beautiful tints, are found in the Mediterranean and the open ocean. Ihey have been taken at depths varying from the surlace to thirty fathoms on rocky coasts, stony beds, and masses of sea-weed. Fig. 2C61 re- presents the Pleurobranchus reticulatus seen from above, showing the reticulations of the mantle, and the bianchial lamella; beneath the posterior edge of the mantle on the right side. Fig. 2662 repre- sents, n, the shell of the Pleurobranchus membrana- ceus, external view; ft, the same, infernal view. It reminds us of the shell of Ancylus. 2663. — The Mediterranean Umheei.la {Umbrella Mediterranea). The genus Umbrella is closely allied to Pleuiobranchus. The slug is oblong, much depressed, convex .ibove, very fleshy below; the head is not distinct; the mouth is situated in a deep narrow notch in front of the foot, which has thick edges and is raised all round, and is large and spreading, with a smooth and flat uiider- surface; there are four tentacles ; the branchiae are foliaceous, disposed along the right side ; the mantle supports an external calcareous shell, irregularly circular, slightly convex above, con- centrically striated, with a conical apex, reminding BULL^A.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. S07 us of a circular shield, with a short-spiked central boss. Referring to Fig. 2663, a represents the shell ; A, the bi anchise ; c, the head viewed from above. This species inhabits the Mediterranean, and is found in rocky places along the shore. Fig. 2664 represents the shell of an Indian species, the Umbrella Indica : a, the inside ; b, the outer surface. 2665. — The Siphonabia {Siphonaria Siplio). This form is thus characterized by M. de Blainville :— The animal is oval and sub- depressed, with the head subdivided into two unequal lobes, without tentacles or apparent eyes ; borders of the mantle crenulated ; a branchia in the form of a square membrane, in a sinus formed on the right side between the foot and the mantle ; the shell is like that of a limpet, elliptical, with the apex well marked, drawn slightly to the left, poslerioriy ; a sort of canal or gutter appears on the right side ; the internal muscular impression is of a horseshoe shape. Though M. de Blainville did not detect eyes, it would appear from the investigations of MM. Qiioy and Gaimard (' Zoology of the Astrolabe *) that these organs exist, and two very distinct nerves have been detected running from the cesophageal ganglion to them. The eyes in fact are sessile, and in a specimen preserved in spirit of wine might easily become undistingui-shable. The animal is described as exuding a viscous whitish humour at pleasure. Some naturalists have referred this form to the limpets ; but, as the organization of the mollusk proves, it belongs to the present order. The species of Siphonaria are numerous : they are found along the shores of Brazil, the West Indies, Tristan d'Acunha, &c. Referring to Fig. 2665, a exhibits the inside of the shell of Siphonaria Sipho; b, the outside. Fig. 2666 represents a small species of Sipho- naria: A, a lateral, B, a ventral view : a, the breathing aperture : b, the head ; c, the mantle . According to M. Deshayes, the number of living species of Siphonaria is twenty-one, of fossi) species (m tertiary beds) three. From these mollusks we pass to a distinct form or family, viz. the Bulladae, containing the genera Lobaria (Acera or Akera of Miiller), Bullsea, Bulla, Sormetus, and Gasteroptera, &c. The Bulladae are teclibranchiate ; the tentacles are short and broad, and so modified as to form together a sort of fleshy veil beneath which are the eyes ; the stomach is complicated, and in many the gizzard is furnished with a calcareous grinding apparatus ; several species exude a purple liquor. The shell, in such species as possess it, is more or less rolled upon itself, destitute of a salient spire, with a wide or patulous mouth. A better idea of the form and characters of the animals of this group than mere words can convey will be conceived by referring to our pictorial specimens. 2667. — The Flesht Lobabia {Lobaria camosa). Acera carnosa, Lam. ; Bulla carnosa, Cuv. ; Doridium, Meckel. In this animal the body is oblong, subglobular, and appears as if divided into four parts, viz. one anterior for the head and thorax, one on each side for the swimming appendages, and one posterior for the viscera. There is not a trace of a shell, nor is the stomach furnished with any calcareous apparatus. The branchiae are covered by the mantle at the posterior portion of the body. The Fleshy Lobaria is the only species of the genus known. It is found in the Mediterranean. 2668. — The Patulous Bui.l.ea (Bullira aperla). L'Amande de merofthe French. In the genus Bulla'a the shell is delicate, open, and can scarcely be regarded as more than the ru- diment of the rolled-up form, which, in Bulla, is carried to greater perfection. It is hidden in the substance of the mantle, and consequently does not contain the animal, the body of which is indeed far too large to be covered by so small a shield. The stomach or gizzard is furnished with three very thick rhomboidal pieces of a calcareous structure, worked by powerful muscles. The animals are found at considerable depths in the sea, on sandy bottoms, where they creep about in quest of prey with great facility. M. Blainville distinguishes under the name of Bulltea those species which, whether the shell be internal or external, have the foot thick, and not dilated into swimming append- ages, and which, consequently, differ in their habits from the Bullae ; the former creeping well, the latter creeping with difficulty, but swimming with facility. He divides the Bullicae, first, into such species as have an internal shell very incompletely rolled up, without spire or columella, of which Bulleea aperta is an examsle : secondly, into such as have an internal shell, very incompletely rolled up, but with a columella and alveolar spire ; of this sec- tion he gives Bulla ampulla as an example : thirdly, into such as have the shell internal, aud the lateral lobes more developed and cirrhous ; he cites Fcrus- sac's Bullsea, figured in the ' Atlas Zoologique ' of the Voyage of the Uranie, as an example. It will here be perceived that M. de Blainville considerably modifies the characters of Bullaca as established by Lamarck. In the '• additions and corrections " to his ' Malacologie,' he carries these modifications to a still greater extent. Refeiring to Bullaea aperta. Fig. 2668 — A repre- sents the back view of the mollusk ; B, the right side ; C, the same, with the fleshy plate separated from the dorsal to show the parts between ; D, view of the under side; a, the fieshy plate that covers the anterior parts of the body ; b, the fieshy plate that acts as a foot or creeping disc ; c, the part which contains the imbedded shell ; d, a portion of the branchiae ; e and f, orifices. E, the shell re- moved, and in its natural position ; F, the shell viewed on its under or concave side. - The Bullsea aperta is very extensively spread, and has been found at a depth ranging from near the surface to twelve fathoms. Mr. W. Clark (see ' Zoological .Journal,' vol. iii. p 337) states that he '| found two British species of Bullaea, viz. B. catena and B. punctata, at Exmouth and Torquay, in deep pools at the time of the lowest spring tides, and he obtained a third species, Bullaea pruinosa, by dredging off Budleigh Salterton ; the depth at which he dredged is not mentioned, but it must have been considerable, for he observes that the species is rare, and only to be procured occasionally by deep dredging seven or eight miles from the shore. It may be here observed that the Bullaea catena was found to have the gizzard furnished with a calcareous apparatus, but in the two others the gizzards were destitute of this crushing organ. We have now before us the calcareous pieces with which the gizzard of Bullaea aperta is provided : and a most efficient apparatus they form for grinding or crushing the shells of the smaller mollusks on which the animal feeds. It would appear, indeed, to be very vora- cious ; Mr. Soweiby, when speaking of the use of these calcareous pieces, and of their powerful adductor muscles, states that the animal of Bullaea aperta is sometimes absolutely distorted, from having swallowed entire a Coibula nucleus, a bivalve mol- lusk, with a very thick strong shell, nearly equal in size to itself. 2669. — Ferussac's Bull.ka (Bullaa Fervssadi). In the additions to his ' Ma- lacologie,' M. de Blainville proposes for this species the geneiic name of Bullina. It is figured in the 'Atlas Zoologique' of the Uranie (Quoy and Gai- mard). 2670. — Adanson's Sormetus (Sormetus Adansmii). " Adanson's Sormetus," says Cuvier, " is a species closely related to Bullaea, but upon so imperfect a document fas that given by Adanson, Senegal, pi. 1, vol. i.) I have no grounds for establishing either a genus or even a species." M. de Blainville appears equally at a loss respect- ing it ; and though he provisionally places it near Lobaria, he adds that the animal is utterly unknown. 2671. — The Fragile Bulla (Bulla frngilis). In the genus Bulla, as consti- tuted by Lamarck, the shell is external, covered with a very thin epidermis, and is large enough to serve the mollusk as a retreat. It must be observed that this genus is now greatly restricted, and justly so, from the Bulla of Linnaeus, who associated in it the most diverse forms, mollusks formed for breath- ing air, and others for aquatic respiration ; in fact, a heterogeneous assemblage, as Physa, Achatina, Ovula, Tcrebella, and others, besidesthose to which the generic title of Bulla is now exclusively applied. The labour of separating these ill-assorted Ibrms was commenced by Bruguifires, and carried out by Lamarck. The Bulla fragilis is stated by Lamarck to inhabit the English Channel, near Nantes and Noirmoutiers. It is remarkable for the delicacy and brittleness of its thin shell, which is ovate-oblong, of a horn colour, with fine transverse strife. The apex rises in the rudiment of a projecting spire. Refeiring to Fig. 2671, A represents the shell, with the aperture in view; C, a view of the spiral apex, showing the way in which the shell is rolled up ; B, the animal. An allied species, with a much thicker and firmer shell, the Bulla lignaria, is also found in the Eu- ropean seas, and occurs on the British coast. It is of a pale wood-brown colour externally, with while striae running in the direction of the roll of the shell ; it is ' L'Oublfie ' of the French. 2672. — The Belted Bulla (Bulla Velum, Gmcl.). Bulla fasciata, Bruguieres. This species is said to be a native of the Indian seas ; the shell is extremely delicate, and of a light horn colour, with a snow-white baud about the middle, bordered on each side with a band of dark brown ; the apex and base are white, also bordered with dark brown. 2G73.— The Globose Bulla (Bulla Ampulla). La Muscade of the French, In this species the shell is strong in texture, solid and somewhat oval, and subglobose in form. Instead of a spine there is a depression or alveolus. The colour is very beautiful, consisting of a marble mix- ture of white, plum colour, and reddish. According to Lamarck it is found both in the Indian and American seas, but Deshayes gives the European and Indian seas as its abode. The figures are reversed from an oversight in the drawing. 2674. — Meckel's Gasteroptera (Gasteropteron Meckeli). This" little winged mollusk is distinguished from other Bulladae by the development of the borders of the foot into broad wings which are used for the purpose of swimming, when it propels itself along, with the back down- wards. iTie gizzard is destitute of calcareous pieces. The lateral gill is uncovered and there is no shell. This animal is found in the Mediterranean ; it is about an inch long, and two inches in length when the wings are expanded. Various fossil Bulladae have been enumerated by conchologists, and the fol- lowing notice of it occurs in the ' Penny Cyclopaedia.' "Lamarck enumerates four fossil species, all of them from Grignon : G. Sowerby says that such are only to be distinguished in the tertiary beds and in the green sand. Deshayes in his tables,* speaking of tertiary fossils only, gives tsvo fossil species of Bullaea, one from the sub-Apennine beds, and one from Paris. Of Bulla he enumerates twenty-three fossil in the tertiary beds; and of these, two are both living and fossil, viz. Bulla lignaria and B. ampulla. The first he places in Sicily, in the sub- Apennine beds (Italy), and the English crag at Bordeaux, Dax, in the Touraine, at Turin. Angers, Paris, and Valognes ; in short, in the beds of the Pliocene, Miocene, and Eocene periods of Lyell. The second Deshayes quotes as occurring in beds of the Pliocene period only, viz. those of Sicily and the sub-Apennine beds (Italy). In his edition of Lamarck (vol. vii. 1836) H* takes no notice of B. ampulla as a fossil, but notices B. striata (which he observes has been confounded with B. ampulla) as a fossil species. He also remarks on ' the confusion between B. solida and B. cylindiica, and proposes that B. solida should take the name of B. cylindiica; but the Bulla cylindrica of Bru- guieres, living in the Mediterranean and European seas, should be called B. cylindracea (Pennant's name) ; and that the fossil Bulla from the environs of Paris, confounded with the latter, should be named Bulla Bruguicrei."t In the ' Magazine of Natural History,' September, 1839, p. 460, Mr. S. V. Wood describes the follow- ing species of Bulla as occurring in the crag foima- tion, viz. Bulla quadrata. Wood ; Bulla catenata, Wood; Bulla dilatata. Wood ; Bulla lignaria, Auct.; Bulla ventrosa. Wood ; Bulla eonulus, Desh. ; Bulla concinna. Wood ; Bulla cylindracea, Bulla sub- truncata. Wood ; Bulla obtusa, and Bulla olivula, Wood. In the same Magazine for February, 1839, p. 61, Mr. Bean, in his catalogue of the fossils found in the Cornbrash Limestone of Scarborough, describes a new species of Bulla (B. undulata) with the follow- ing remark : — "Mr. G. B. Sowerby, in his genera of recent and fossil shells, says^ — Fossil species (of Bulla) are only to be distineuished in the tertiary beds and the green sand. For once we must differ from him, at the same time acknowledging the cor- rectness of his general assertions. Fossil Bullae are certainly rare ; — the specimen figured (viz. B. undu- lata) being the only one that has occurred in this neighbourhood. "The Bulla elongata, figured by Professor Phillips in his' Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire,' cannot belong to this genus, as our specimens, though imperfect, have one fold on the pillar." Here, then, we close our sketch of the fourth order of Gastropodous Mollusks, accordingto the arrange- ment of Cuvier. With respect to the manners and habits of the species, our information is necessarily limited. Living at the bottom of the sea, whence they are dredged up by accident, we can seldom ob- serve them in their native element, unless, indeed, while floating on the tranquil surface of the ocean ; and then, so diflerent is their appearance from that f, presented by specimens preserved in spirits of wine, h that we can scarcely recognise the species. Hence ■' it is that drawings from preserved specimens are really of little importance, however valuable to the comparative anatomist these specimens may be ; • Lvell's * Principles orGeolocy,' fivo. ed., vol. iii. appendix 1. + Tile specific names *' cylinilricii " and " cylindiiu;ea" are so nearly alike, that we fear tlicre will still be confu.tion. Mti^Stphoaaii*. fM*.— Fenunc'i Bulln. / ^:r- Stat. -aphonirU. 2liCg.— Patulous Bulla-a. SCTS.-GlobOK Bulla. S6T0. — AiUnaon'B Sormetui. 2674.— Meeker* Gtsieropterm. 2671.— FragUe Biillai. .2CTi — DellcU Bui!. aesT.— Fleshy Lobaril. 208 2680.— Imperial Troclius. 2676.— Carinaria. 2675. — Mediterranean Carinaria. 267S.— Firola. M8S.— Variegated Solarium 2877,— Peron's Atlanta. S«79.-ObelUk Trochus. ko. 77. Vol. II. '^^^ 2682* — Variegated Solarium. 2681.— Perspective Solarium. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.l 209 210 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Tbochida and, coniequenUy. the de«r»blene«i that P«'«»»; who have the opportunity »hould make coloured drawing! from the hvinif animals, m a meang of exTine a correct idea of the form and tinU of the»e mollusks. before contracted and discoloured by the alcohol in which they are generally preserved. ORDER HETEROPODA. Thx mollu»k» of thi» order are distinguished by the ttructure of the fool, whi.-h, instead of forming a horizontal disc, is compressed so as to constitute a Tertical mascular paddle, serving as a fin. At the edge of this, in many species, is a dilatation in the fora of a hollowed cone, representing the disc in other orders. The branchia;, which are plume-like turts, are situated on the hinder pait of the back, directed forwards; and immediately behind them are the heart, the liver, and other viscera. The body is gelatinous and transparent, with a muscular in- vestment, elongated and generally terminating in a compressed tail. Tlie mouth is furnished with a muscular tube, and a tongue armed with minute hooks. In swimming, the body is generally reversed, the paddle-like foot being uppermost, the back downwards. ,,...■ .u These animals are capable of distending their body by filling it with water, in a manner not very clearly ascertained. . , . n Cuvier observes that Forskal comprehended all the species under the genus Pterotrachea, which is now greatly subdivided. 2675. — Tbk Mediteeba.vian Cabiitabia. (Carinaria Mediterranea). In this genus the branchia, the heart, the liver, and other organs appear as if distinct from the general mass of the body, and are protected by a delicate shell, some- what resembling that of the Paper Nautilus (Argo- nauta), seen in our iigure as reversed, the back being downwards. This shell is no protection to the body generally, being too small for the reception of the animal. The general form of the animal is subcylindrical and elongated. The whole ma-s is transparent, and dotted with elevated points. The tail is furnished above (or below, as the animal floats) with a sort of fin, which performs the part of a rudder. The foot is a reddish, thin, compressed, and fan- like paddle, beautifully reticulated by muscular fibres crossing each other ; and furnished with a sort of sucker, by means of which it cannot be doubted that the moUusk is enabled to adhere to rocks or stones, thus mooring itself whilst reposing at the bottom of the sea. The mouth is a retractile muscular tube, fur- nished with a rasp-like tongue, and the course of the oesophagus, stomach, and alimentary canal is easily seen through the transparent parietes of the body. Referring to Fig. 2675, a shows the situation of the oesophageal ganglion ; ft, the eye ; c, the head ; d;the retractile tube of the mouth; e, the tenta- culum; /, the digestive tube; g, the shell, con- taining the organs of respiration, &c. ; /(, the poste- rior or rudder fin; t, the ventral fin; A, the sucker of the ventral fin ; II, the nerves. The present species of Carinaria is a native of the Mediterranean, and specimens have been taken in the Indian Ocean : hence it would appear to be very widely spread. There are, however, others, as C. Cyrabium, C. fragilis, &c., all natives of warm latitudes. Fig. 2676, copied from the Iconograpliie ofCuvier's' Animal Kingdom,' represents Carinaria, with the back uppermost. It is tnere denominated C. Cymbium ; but in all probability it is C. Medi- terranea. 2677. — Pbboh's Atlakta {Atlanta Peronii). Peron's Atlanta is a minute mollusk, as transparent as crystal, with a most deli- cafe shell spirally rolled on itself, and not unlike an ammonite m form, inhabiting the Indian seas. Referring to Fig. 2677, a represents this mollusk, of the natural size. M. Lamanon thought that in this mollusk he had discovered the original of the fossil ammonites (' Voyage de La Peyrouse,' iv. p. 134, pi. 63) ; but in this view he was decidedly mistaken, as it is incontestably proved that those fossil shells belonged to cephalopodous moUusks. 2678.— Thb Fibola (Firola Frederici). Excepting that there is no shell, the Firola closely approaches to Carinaria : the mouth is situated at the extremity of a long proboscis; and at the end of the tail along jointed thread is often to he observed, the nature of which, says Cuvier, is not ascertained. Forskal considered it a distinct parasitic animal. The Firolae are com- mon in the seas of the warm or temperate latitudes, and are remarkable for their extreme transparency, vrhich is often interrupted by golden spots. From their delicacy, which renders them liable to mutilation, it is not very easy to procure perfect specimens of these singular mollusks, and conse- quently the determination of the species is not al- ways practicable. From the genus Firola Lesueur separates two others, Firoloida and Sagitella, but upon very trifling grounds. ORDER PECTINIBRANCHIATA. The Pectinibranchiata form the most extensive di- vision by far of the Gastropodous mollusks, com- prehending almost all spiral univalves, and many simply conical shells. The branchise consist of numerous leaves or strip ranged in parallel order like the teeth of a comb, and are attached in one, two, or three lines, according to the genera, on the ceiling of the pulmonary cavity, which occupies the last whorl of the shell, and opens between the edge of the mantle and the body. A great difference exists between the Pectinibranchiata, in the pre- sence or absence of a tube formed by a prolongation of the edge of the pulmonary cavity of the left side, and which emerges through a canal or notch in the shell, in order to enable the animal to carry on aquatic respiration while shrouded in its domi- cile. There is another point of distinction between these mollusks, viz. that some are destitute of an operculum for closing the mouth of the shell, and moreover they vary in the fringes and other append- ages of the head and body. In all, however, there are two tentacles, and two eyes, supported sometimes on peculiar peduncles. The mouth is trumpet- shaped, more or less produced, and furnished with a tongue armed with minute hooks, and so forming a rasp capable, by repeated working, of piercing the hardest bodies. The Pectinibranchiata are ranged into many fa- milies, according to the form of their shells, which appear to have a constant relationship to that of the animals themselves. Family TROCHID.ffi. The mollusks of this family, according to Cuvier, are distinguished by the shell having an entire aper- ture, without notch or canal for a mantle siphon, or pulmonary tube, the animals being destitute of such siphon ; and by the possession of an operculum, or some organ in lieu of it. 2679. — The Obelisk Tbochbs {TrocJtus obeliscus). The genus Trochus is cha- racterized by a shell of which the angular aperture approaches at its external border more or less to the totality of a quadrangular figure, and is on an ob- lique plane with reference to the axis of the shell, because that part of the border next the spire ad- vances more than the rest. The greater number of these animals have three filaments on each side of the mantle, or at least some appendages at the sides of the foot. The species are very numerous ; they are marine, and feed upon plants ; their range is very extensive, few seas being without some of them. They are found at various depths, from the surface to lorty-five fathoms, creeping on rocks, sandy beds, masses of sea-weed, &c. M. Deshayes enumerates a hundred and three existing species, but this is under the mark. The Trochus obeliscus is a native of the Indian seas ; it was found by MM. Quoy and Gaimard at Tonga. The shell is conico-pyramidal, coloured with green and white ; the whorls are more or less tuberculate, nodose, obliquely furrowed across ; the lower surface is planulate. The mollusk has stout short tentacles : the eyes are on large pointed pedi- cles ; the muzzle is wide, with a black riband near its border ; the head is dotted with greenish ; the foot is yellow below, and thickly sprinkled above with dusky brown. The edge of the mantle is va- riegated with brown and greenish ; the fringes of the foot are white. Referring to Fig. 2679, a shows the anterior part of the mollusk, and a portion of the operculum, which is visible at the lower part of the figure ; 4 is the-operculum removed to show its structure. 2680. — The Impebiai. Tbochus (Trochus imperiidis). This is a very rare species, and has hitherto been found only at New Zealand. Quoy and Gaimard never obtained more than one living specimen, of small size, which was found in the Passe des Fran^ais, Tasman's Bay. The shell was covered with calcareous incrustations and ma- rine plants, indicating the indolent habits of the animal. The shell is orbicularly conical, the apex obtuse ; the whorls turgidly convex, squamoso-radiate at the margin. Colour above violet brown, white below. In the mollusk the muzzle is elongated in the form of a proboscis ; the tentacles are short ; the ocular peduncles stout and obtuse. The operculum is oval. smooth, and whitish. Referring to Fig. 2680, a tt- presents the anterior part of the animal seen from above ; ft, the inside of the operculum ; c, the out- side of the same. 2681. — TiiK Pebspective Solabium {Solarium perspectivwn). Trochus perspectivus, Linn. The genus Solarium is distinguished by the spire of the cone being very wide ; the base presents an extensive umbilicus, in which the eye may follow the inner border of all the whorls, marked with a crenulated cordon. The species included in this genus have been found in the seas of warmer latitudes. They occur respectively in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, in the South Seas, off the coasts of Tranquebar and those of New Holland. Most appear to be littoral in their habits, keeping near the shore, on banks or rocks covered with marine vegetation. Upwards of twelve species are recorded. In Solarium perspectivura the spell is orbicu- larly conoid, longitudinally striated, yellowish white, with articulated belts of white and brown near the sutures ; the notches of the umbilicus are small. The mollusk has a large foot widened in front, with a very strongly developed marginal furrow. The head presents a large escutcheon ; the tentacles are short and stout ; at their base are placed the eyes on short peduncles. The operculum is large, oval, and membranous. Referring to Fig. 2681, a represents the front view of the shell ; b, the shell as seen from below ; c, the operculum ; d, the an- terior part of the animal. 2682. — The Vabieoated Solabicm (Solarium variegatum). This species, of which specimens were procured by MM. Quoy and Gaimard in Carteret Harbour, New Ireland, is of small size, with an orbiculate convex shell trans- versely sulcated, longitudinally striated, variegated with white and bay. The umbilicus is patulous and crenulated. This mollusk is remarkable for an operculum of most singular form, which it carries at the posterior part of the body, and which diifers from that of all other species. Previously to the discovery by MM. Quoy and Gaimard, with respect to the mollusk to which it belonged, it had been known to concholo- gists by the account of M. de Roissy, but all was uncertainty as to the species to which it was to be referred. It is a long solid calcareo-membranous cone, carrying membranous lamellae spirally throughout its length. The interspaces appear as if ribanded. It does not enter completely into the shell, but well fills the aperture. At Fig. 2683, a represents the animal and shell of Solarium varie- gatum, together with the operculum seen from be- low ; 6, the operculum removed. The fossil Trochi and Solaria are very numer- ous ; and as we have unfortunately so little to say of the habits and manners of the recent species, it may not be amiss to enter into the distribution of the fossil species, as recorded by different geologists, to whom the study of conchology is of the highest importance. We shall take Trochus and Solarium separately. Trochus. — M. de Blainville states that Lamarck enumerates nine fossil species, and Defrance fifty- six, eleven of which the last-mentioned zoologist considers as analogous : six are from Italy, and thirty-eight from Grignon. Mr. G. B. Sowerby observes that the fossil spe- cies, which are rather numerous, belong to the newer formations, such as the crag, the calcaire grossier, and the green-sand : they are also, he adds, found in the London clay, and he remarks that he has reason to believe that some species oc- cur so low down as the lias. The number of fossil species of Trochus recorded by M. Deshayes in his tables is seventy (tertiary) ; and of these Trochi magus, fagus, cingidatus, ag- glutinans, Adansoni, conulus, cinerarius, conu- loides, Matoni, zizypbinus, strigosus, and obliqua- tus, are given as species found both living and fossil (tertiary). Trochus crenulatus is noted among those species which are found in more than one tertiary formation, but does not occur in the living and fos- sil list. Mr. Lyell, however, under the head of ' Fossil Shells, collected by him in Ischia, and named by M. Deshayes,' mentions Trochus crenulatus as one of four shells sent to him from Ischia, all of re- cent species. Mr. Lyell enumerates also, among the fossil shells from the western borders of the Red Sea, collected by Mr. James Burton, and communicated by Mr. G. B. Greenough, Tro- chi maculatus, virgatiis, and mauritianus^ all de- scribed as recent by Lamarck. Among the fossil shells collected by him at Sienna, he notices Tro- chus fermonii, and a new species, with its colour. (' Principles of Geology.') That Trochus occurs below the chalk appears Irom Dr. Fittoii's valuable list, where Trochus Sedg- wickii is recorded both from the upper green-sand TURBINID.E.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 211 of the Isle of Wight and from the Oxford oolite in Dorsetshire, and another uncertain species from the last-named locality. See this list also for localities of Pieurotomaiia. (' Strata between the Chalk and Oxford Oolite.) Nor is it wanting in the Silurian rocks, where Mr. Murchison records the presence of the genus in the old red sandstone (middle and lower beds only), in the upper Ludlow rock, and (with a ?) in the Cara- doc sandstone. In the same elaborate work Pleu- rotomaria is noted from the lower Ludlow rock and from the Caradoc sandstone. ('Silurian System.") Solarium. — M. de Blainville observes that Lamarck records eight fossil species, and Defrance seventeen, some of which are subanalogues from the calcaire grossier. M. de Blainville also notes the fossil Solarium magnum (Maclurite from North America, and adds that Defrance enumerates eight species of Euomphalus (fossil). Mr. G. B. Sowerby observes that a few fossil spe- cies occur in the tertiary beds ; and that there are some fossils belonging to the lower beds of oolitic formation, and even as low as the mountain lime- stone, which resemble them very nearly: these, he adds, form the genus Cirrus of some authors, and do not appear to him to possess any characters by which they may be generically distinguished from the Trochi, Turbines, or Solaria. M. Deshayes, in his tables, makes sixteen the number of fossil Solaria (tertiary), and names So- laria variegatum, carocollatum, and pseudo-perspec- tivum as species found both living and fossil (ter- tiary). In the list of Red Sea shells above referred to So- larium perspectivum appears. That the genus occurs below the chalk is evident from Dr. Fitton's List, also above referred to, where three species are recorded from the upper green- sand, the gault, and Blackdown. Cirrus is also noted from the upper green-sand of Dorset. Solarium does not appear amongst the fossils of the Silurian rocks, but no less than nine species of Euomphalus are recorded in Mr. Murchison's tables, coming respectively from the Aymestry limestone, the Lower Ludlow rock, the Wenlock limestone, the Wenlock shale, the Caradoc sandstone, and the Llandeilo flags. These works are only quoted as examples out of many fossil lists which should be examined by the student. Here may be best noticed the Rotella mana (from the Claiborne beds, Alabama, tertiary) of Mr. Lea, who observes that he is not aware that the genus Rotella has before been observed in a fossil state in America or in Europe, and refers to the tables of M. Deshayes, who gives four recent species, but none fossil. (' Contributions to Geology.') Family TURBINID^E. In this family, according to Cuvier, are compre- hended all the species with the shell completely and regularly turbinated, and with the mouth en- tirely circular. The subdivisions or subfamilies are numerous. The species included in the genus Turbo, Les Sabots of the French, are described by the same author as having the shell round or oval, thick, and with the mouth completely on the side of the spire by the penultimate whorl. The mollusk has two long tentacles, with the eyes carried on peduncles at their external base ; on the sides of the foot there are membranous wings or expansions, which are sometimes simple, sometimes fringed, sometimes furnished with one or two filaments. It is to some of these species that those thick, solid, calcareous opercula belong, which are remarkable in collec- tions, and which were formerly employed in medi- cine under the name of Unguis adoratus. Some species, he adds, are umbilicated (Meleagris, Montf ), and others not umbilicated (Turbo, Montf.). M. de Blainville, in reference to the Turbinidae (genus Turbo of Linnaeus), gives the following gene- ral characters : — Animal slightly variable, rather, however, with reference to the form and proportion of certain ex- ternal parts than to the totality of its organization, and bearing a great resemblance to that of a Tro- chus. Shell equally variable in its general form, but with the aperture always nearly circular and com- pletely closed by a calcareous or horny operculum ; the spiral whorls are few, and the apex is sub- lateral. M. de Blainville in further observations remarks, that in reality there is very little distinction between this family and the Trochidse, and that, in fact, the Linnaean jenus Trochus is fused by in- sensible gradations into the Linnsean genus Turbo; and he adds, that it is only with a view of making the conchological system of Linnajus accord with that of modern authors that he has established the present family. With respect to the habits and manners of the Turbinidse, it would appear that they frequent sub- Vol. II. marine banks covered with sea-weeds, and are all phytophagous, or vegetable feeders ; a few are natives ol fresh waters, and a limited number respire air. With respect to the restricted genus Turbo of modern naturalists, M. de Blainville thus charac- terizes it ; — Animal nearly resembling that of the Trochi ; the sides of the body are frequently ornamented with tentacular appendages vaiying in form and number. The head is prolonged into a proboscis ; the ten- tacles are slender and setaceous ; the eyes often subpedunculate ; the mouth is without a labial tooth, but provided with a very long lingual riband rolled spirally and contained in the abdominal cavity ; there is a transverse furrow at the anterior border of the foot ; two branchial pectinations ; shell thick, nacreous, internally depressed, conical or subturriculate, sometimes umbilicated, and some- times slightly carinated on its circumference ; aperture circular or slightly depressed ; the oper- culum is calcareous or horny, and in the latter case the .spire is visible on the outer side, but in the calcareous opercula the spire is visible on the internal side. M. de Blainville divides the genus Turbo into ten sections for the sake of convenience. With regard to the internal anatomy of the mollusks of the genus Turbo, MM. Quoy and Gaimard have entered fully into details, which it would be here out of place to follow. See the atlas of the Astrolabe (Zoologie, pi. 59, f. 10). 2684.— The Marbled Turbo (Turbo marmoratus). This large and beautiful shell is well known to conchologists, and is a native of the Indian seas. Living specimens were brought to the Astrolabe at Aboyna, by the Malays, but MM. Quoy and Gaimard were unable to obtain any account of the habits of the animal. It would appear that the mollusk is used as food by the natives of Wagiou, and those voyagers often found the empty shells of this turbo upon the heaps of other molluscous shells from which the inhabitants derive a great portion of their subsistence. The shell is subovate, very ventricose, imperforate, smooth, of a green colour, marbled or subfasciated with green and white ; the last whorl is transversely nodulous in a triple series, the upper nodules the largest ; the lip at the base is flattened into a short subreflected process : the mouth silvery. This shell, when deprived of its external layer, exhibits a silvery, iridescent, and very beautiful nacre. The operculum is white externally, chestnut infernally. Referring to Fig. 2684, a represents a back view of the shell ; b, a view of the shell, presenting the mouth, with the operculum in situ; c, the inside of the operculum. 26a5.— The Twisted Turbo {Turbo torquatus). This is a large shell, orbiculate- convex, broadly and deeply umbilicated, transversely sulcated, substriated with close-set longitudinal lamella, of a green grey colour. The spire is blunt at the apex. The shell when deprived of its first layer is beautifully nacreous. According to MM. Quoy and Gaimard the foot of the mollusk often assumes a quadrilateral form, but it can elongate itself into a trumpet shape. It is yellow below, dotted with reddish brown on the lateral parts. This species inhabits King George's Sound, but few living specimens were found by the French voyagers. Referring to Fig. 2685, a represents the shell with the animal seen from below, the foot assuming a quadrilateral form; 6, the animal removed from the shell, with the foot trumpet-shaped ; c, the outside of the operculum ; d, the inside of the same. 2686.— Cook's Turbo {Turbo Cookii). The general form, ridges, imbri- cations, and markings of this beautiful shell are so well expressed by the tigures, as to relieve us from the necessity of entering into a minute description, rather perplexing from the terms employed by conchologists than conveying clear and precise ideas to the general reader. It is in fact not very easy to express in words the details of a shell, though the eye at once seizes them ; nor do the compound words derived from the Latin, as orbicu- late-convex,imbricato- squamous, and the like, serve except for the professed naturalist ; and though we have occa-sionally used such terras, we have at the same time felt that to most they would convey but little information. One of the difficulties indeed under which the naturalist labours in his attempts to describe the form and structure of objects popularly, arises from the circumstance that the terms he uses are either not in common use, being coined as it were to meet the necessities of science, or if used are not so in the sense in which he employs them. In fact the student in zoology and botany has to familiarize himself, as a preliminary step, with a list of scientific terms, used in a peculiar sense, which, when once understood, he perceives to be definite and expressive, but which ,constitute as it were a language per se, and to others destitute of meaning. With regard to shells we have greatly felt this difficulty, and the more so as, by way of relief to these dry and perhaps repulsive details, we can say so little of the habits and manners of their mollusks. On the contrary, quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fishes, from the variety of their instincts and modes of life, from their activity, their opera- tions, their change of place, and their external structure, diverse for given ends, aftbrd inex- haustible materials for descriptions replete with interest. Yet is the study of shells and their occupants of great importance, signally so indeed to the geologist, who at every step has to determine the affinity of extinct fossil species to those now existing, to trace the gradual approach of forms long passed away, through successive periods, to those now tenanting the waters of our globe ; ana is thereby enabled to amass a fund of materials, giving him the power of determining the diff'erence or agreement of strata in various parts of the globe, and their respective ages. To the anatomist again the molluscous occupants of these external skeletons, as they may be considered, offer a boundless field of investigation, and present him with examples of wonderful and interesting organization. Hence is ' the term Conchology almost abandoned, and the term Malacology {jMiKaxos, soft in allusion to the mol- lusks, and Koyos) generally adopted in its room. "The shell-collector of former days," says an eloquent writer, "looked upon his drawers, if they were rich in rare species or varieties, as containing an assemblage of gems ; and indeed the enormous prices given for fine and scarce shells, joined with the surpassing beauty of the objects themselves, almost justified the view which the possessor took of his cabinet of treasures. They were to him really ' Les Delices des Yeux et de I'Esprit ;'* and the energetic zeal with which he collected and the sacrifices that he made to procure a fine and perfect Many-ribbed Harp, a Gloria Maris, or Cedo Nulli, among the cones ; an Aurora or Orange-Cowry, a V'oluta aulica or Voluta Junonia, &c., were only comparable to the extravagances of those visited by the tulip mania when it was at its height. But though they were the delight of his eyes, they were, in nine cases out of ten, little more to the owner of them : they were mere trinkets on which he looked dotingly \vithout knowing, and scarcely wishing to know, the organization of the animal whose skeleton only was before him. This innocent trifling came at last to be viewed in its true light by some collectors worthy of better employment, who put off childish things and went deeper into the subject. Lister, Adanson, Linnaeus, Poll, Cuvier, Lamarck, De Blainville, and others gave dignity to this de- partment of zoology, and gradually raised the science to its proper rank ; whilst the comparatively imperishable nature of the covering of the testaceous mollusks became, in the hands of such men as William Smith and his followers, among the most valuable records by which the stratification of the earth's crust could be demonstrated and its geological history deciphered." But we must return from this digression to the species of Turbo before us. The Turbo Cookii was found by MM. Quoy and Gaimard in great numbers in Tasman's Bay, New Zealand, in the Bight of the Astrolabe (I'Anse de I'Astrolabe), and on the reefs of the Passe des Frangais. These scientific explorers observe, that we may judge of its small degree of locomotiMi from the dirty incrustation, so difficult to be removed, with which the shell is covered. It grows to a con- siderable size. A common form of the Turbidinse with which all are familiar, is the ordinary periwinkle, Le Vogneau of the French (Littorina vulgaris, Foruss.), Turbo littoreus, Linn. This species abounds in rocky places in our seas, and is used as food, but is not very digestible, and has been known to occasion dangerous disorders. According to Pennant the Swedish peasants believe that when these shells creep high up the rocks, they indicate a storm from the south. Linnseus quotes Stroem, the Norwegian, for a different augury ; when it ascends the strand it indicates an approaching land-wind, and a calm in-shore. A species in the hotter seas, Littorina pulchra, has been found on mangrove-trees fourteen feet above the water, and has been kept alive with- out water for six months. Another genus belonging, according to the opinion of MM. Quoy and Gaimard, to the present family, and indeed closely related to Turbo, is Phasianella. The shells of the mollusks of this genus, once so rare, began, as these naturalists observe, to be ot less value in consequence of Baudin's voyage ; and • The French title of Knorr** ceiebratetl work in German and French. The German title is * Vergnugen der Augen und des Gemutiu,' 4to., Nuremberir, 17S7, 1764. 2E2 '- -W 3<84.— Mubled Tiubo. S685.— Twisted Turbo. sear.— Bolimoid Phwiantlla. itM.-CoaVt Turbo. 212 2688.— Roseate Tarritella. 26«9.— Avl-abaped TaariUlU. 36M.— Naidna. 8(91 Royal Stairoue Wentletrap. iS93.-^kttttmm Falae-WenOetiap. 2692— Polished Nerita. 2693.— Elliptical Navioella. 2693.— St. Ascension Nelita. 2 cumstance of having previously taken in some drops of water which sufficiently refresh their branchiae. This store, or what is left of it, they discharge when they are lifted from the rock. The Nerits are very widely spread in warm cli- mates. They are gregarious, and many species are found grouped on the same rock. Some love shel- tered nooks, others are exposed to the fury of the waves : and, among those which haunt fresh waters, some live in the deeps in the midst of the strongest currents ; others, on the contrary, keep themselves in the slime of marshes. In their sufficiently agile movements their lips are constantly observed in motion. The animal has a large head, a little notched in front, with two rounded lobes on the sides. The aperture of the mouth, which is subjacent to this sort of hood, is wide and plicated. The tentacles are always very long, pointed, and soft, carrying the eyes at their base upon a pedicle. The foot is oval, narrowed, a little pointed behind, wide in front, with a marginal furrow, and sometimes a depression, which gives it the appearance of being slightly lobated. The edges of the mantle are fringed, so as to cor- respond with the internal furrows of the shell. "There is no siphon. "The pulmonary cavity is proportion- ally very large; a single, long, triangular, and pointed gill traverses it from left to right. It is free at its extremity. Its lamellae appeared double to MM. Quoy and Gaimard. The heart is simple, E laced backwards and to the left ; its ventricle em- races the end of the intestinal loop, which has the appearance of traversing it. 2692.— The Polished Neefta (Nerita polita). "This species is distributed through nearly all the hotter seas. The shell is heavy, thick, and polished, and very finely striated longitudinally : the spire is very retuse ; the lip toothed. It is mar- bled with blended tints, and often adorned with three red transverse bands ; the animal is yellowish with dusky tentacles. 2693.— The St. Ascension Nerita (Nerita Ascensionis). The shell of this species is solid, transversely furrowed, and ribbed, with the lip toothed ; the aperture is white ; the general colour of the shell yellowish grey, with brown marks upon the parts in relief. The foot of the mollusk is yellow below ; striated and thickly dotted with brown on the sides, as is also the head above ; the tentacles are streaked with black ; the neck is violet. The operculum is reddish brown and granulated ; a little spur projects from its angle, a represents the shell and animal ; b, the operculum. 2694.— The Neritina (Neritina pulligera). Nerita pulligera. The shell of this fresh-water mollusk is ovate and slightly striated ; the outer lip is dilated and thin, the inner lip toothed. The general colour is chest- nut brown ; the inner lip yellowish ; the outer white within. The operculum is green with black trans- verse bands. "This species was found by MM. Quoy and Gaimard in the island of Guam, and also at Vanikoro. They frequently observed on the trees dead shells of this species, with the spire always corroded, and inquire whether they had been brought there, or whether the animals had died after having ascended the trees. They further state as a remark- able circumstance, that in numerous individuals they found in the liver a small knot of parasitic worms, some of which were an inch and a half or more in length ; they were pointed at both ends like lumbrici. At Fig. 2694, a represents the shell and animal ; b, the operculum. 2695. — The Elliptical Navicella (Navicella elliptica). The genus Navicella, except in the disposition of the operculum and in the mus- cular attachment of the animal to the shell, closely resembles Nerita. The operculum is very singular ; it is placed above the foot ; its form is somewhat quadrilateral, and is adherent throughout the extent of its lower surface ; in its natural situation it seems as if contained in a sortof pouch between the foot and viscera, so that it cannot, as M. de Blainville observes, really serve the ordinary purposes of an operculum. The shell is oval and elliptical, with a slight greenish brown epidermis, smooth, shininc, and spotted with white and blue. Peristomians.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 215 The Navicellae, of which a limited number of species only is known, are fluviatile in their habits, and are natives of the Indian Archipelago. Referring to Fig. 2695, a represents the animal in the shell, seen from below ; b is the operculum. 2696. — The Black-lipped Natica {Natica melanostoma). The Naticae are extensively spread in the warmer seas, and especially those within the tropics; they are abundant also along the coast of New Holland. The present species was found by MM. Quoy and Gaimard, at the depth of several fathoms, near Torga and the Molucca Islands : other species were seen creeping near the shore on rocks and sea-weed, and have been taken at various depths, from the surface to that of forty fathoms, on muddy banks in aestuaries and tidal rivers. The shell of Natica melanostoma is thin, oval, convex, but depressed ; the spire is slightly promi- nent ; the colour is white zoned with yellow ; lip blackish brown. The operculum is membranous and of a deep chestnut. Referring to Fig. 2696, a represents the shell with the animal seen from above ; b, the animal out of the shell ; c, the operculum. We now turn to a group of fresh-water shells, constituting a family termed Peristomians in the system of Lamarck, containing the genera Valvata, Paludina, and Ampullaria, but which are referred by Cuvier to the Turbinidae. M. Deshayes indeed, commenting upon their organization, says, "It is evident that the genera which it (the Peristoraian family) contains closely approach to those of the family of the Turbos ; it would therefore be proper to place the Peristomians in the neighbourhood of the Turbinaceans, and to arrange them near the family of the Neritaceans, which has certainly less direct affinities with the Turbo family." Mr. Swainson regards these genera as forming, with some others, a subfamily of Turbinidae. 2697, 2698.— Thk Valvata {Valvata piscinalis). In the genus Valvata the shell is discoid and umbilicated, with the whorls rounded and distinct ; the aperture is circular, and the operculum horny. The mollusk has a distinct bead, prolonged into a sort of widened proboscis ; the tentacles are long, with sessile eyes at the pos- terior side of their base. It would appear that the genus has hitherto been found only in Europe and America ; about six species are known. The Valvata piscinalis inhabits the ponds and rivulets of the British islands and the adjacent con- tinent. It is a minute shell of elegant contour. At Fig. 2697, a represents the animal and shell of the natural size ; 6, magnified. At Fig. 2698, a represents the shell of the natural size ; b and c, magnified in two views ; d, the oper- culum enlarged ; e, glutinous masses of eggs on a leaf ; /, a mass of eggs enlarged. 2699.— The Minute Paludina {Paludina parmda). In the genus Paludina the shell is conoid, with the whorls of the spire rounded ; the aperture is oval ; the operculum horny. The mollusk is furnished with a proboscidiform A mouth ; the tentacles are conical, elongated, and Ij contractile ; the foot oval, with a marginal furrow at its anterior part. The PaludinsB have generally delicate shells ; the form is extensively spread ; and species have been found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The European are the inhabitants of temperate latitudes. M. Deshayes observes " that the greatest number of the species live in fresh waters, and that they are met with in a great number of localities on the earth's surface. They appear nevertheless to be more common in the northern than in the southern hemisphere." Some small species, he adds, live in brackish waters, where they are found in great abundance. The number of recent species given in the tables of M. Deshayes amounts to twenty-five ; and of these, three are also found to occur in a fossil state in ter- tiary formations. Referring to Fig. 2699, a repre- sents the animal and .shell, in a side view, magnified ; b, as seen from above. 2700. — The Viviparous Paludina {Paludina vivipard). Helix vivipara, Linnaeus. This species, which is abundant in the rivers and fresh waters of our island, as well as of the conti- nent, was regarded by Linnaeus as a Helix, but Miiller withdrew it from that genus and united it to Nerita. This error was afterwards rectified by Lamarck, who, aided by the anatomical researches of Cuvier, established the present genus and as- assigned to it the proper situation. The shell of this species is conoid, with rounded whorls, and dia- phanous; it is smooth and generally of a greenish Colour, with two or three purplish bands along the turn of the whorls. What is very singular in the history of this spe- cies is, that it produces living young, clad in a deli- cate shell. In its habits it closely resembles Liranaea and Planorbis. Fossil shells of this species occur in the Weald clay and Tilgate beds, as well as the lower divisions of the Hastings deposits (the Ashburnham beds). Referring to Fig. 2700, a represents the shell of an adult with young shells in it ; 6, the operculum ; c, the young shell before exclusion. We now proceed to the genus Ampullaria, con- taining the apple shells of collectors. In this genus the shell is globular, ventricose, and umbilicated, furnished with an epidermis ; the spire is very short, and the last whorl larger than all the rest put together. The aperture is oval. The operculum is horny or shelly. The mollusk has a large, shield-formed, delicate foot ; the head is flattened, and terminated anteriorly by two buccal tentacles ; there are be- sides two very long tentacles supporting at their base the eyes raised on peduncles. There is a long respiratory tube or siphon, projecting to a consi- detable distance, formed by the mantle, but im- pressing no furrow on the lip of the shell. The branchial cavity is very extensive, and the upper boundary is doubled so as to form a great aquiferous sac. Habits fluviatile. The Ampullariae frequent the lakes and rivers of warm climates. Species of very large size have been found in Asia, Africa, and America, and espe- cially in the southern portion of the latter. Olivier states that one is found in Lake Mareotis in com- pany with marine shells. These fluviatile shells were arranged by Miiller in his genus Nerita; and Linnaeus classed some under the genus Helix. 2701. — The Doubtful Ampullaria {Ampullaria dubia). The animal is represented creeping : a is the operculum ; b, the right siphon ; c, the left siphon. The same species is represented at Fig. 2702, so as to show the lower side of the foot ; the animal appears in the act of ascending to breathe, and with the respiratory siphon protruded, a is the oper- culum ; b, the right siphon ; c, the left siphon. 2703. — The Ram's-Horn Ampullaria {Ampullaria comu arietis). Ceratodes fasciatus, Guilding. a represents the animal creeping; b, the animal in a supine position ; a, the operculum ; b, the right siphon ; c, the respiratory siphon ; c, the head, tentacles, eyes at their base, and expan- sions at the side of the neck. 2704. — The Globose Ampullaria {Ampullaria globosa). This species is said by Mr. Swainson to be an inhabitant of the rivers of India. The shell is represented as having the mouth closed by the operculum. In this species the margin of the aperture is thick and grooved. Ampullaria; have at various times been brought alive to Europe. An able naturalist informs us that the first, as it would seem, were sent to Paris, by M. Caillaud, from the Nile. We learn that that naturalist, during his voyage to Meroe, collected several Egyptian " mollusca, which he distributed generously among collectors. One correspondent had been anxious for the fluviatile mollusks found in the Nile. The person employed to collect these, after having gathered a large quantity of river mol- lusca, among which were some living Ampullariae, put them all into a box of bran (son). This box was delayed on its road by the operation of the quarantine laws for four months, and, when it reached M. Caillaud, was in such a state, from the putre- faction of the greater part of its animal contents, that he hastened to throw the whole into the water. To his no small surprise, he found, a few hours after, the greater part of the Ampullariae, which had been shut up with this mass of putrefaction, quietly creeping about upon the mud. He gave many in- dividuals to M. Deshayes, who kept them alive from four to five months. The latter zoologist remarks that, since that communication, Mr. Sowerby, in the ' Zoological Journal,' and M. Quoy, in the ' Zoology of the Astrolabe,' have given the figures of many other species of Ampullariae, several of which have been brought alive to Europe. We know of no other figures of Ampullariae in the ' Zoological Journal ' than those illustiative of a paper by the Rev. Lansdowne Guilding. On the 29th of October, 18.33, Mr, Cuming, so well known for the great additions which he has contributed to our knowledge of the mollusca by his collections from the west, and who has since been employed in the same laudable pursuit in the east, to the great enrichment of this department of zoology, brought to Mr. Broderip a specimen of Am- pullaria globosa, expressing his opinion that it might be alive. Mr. Broderip immediately placed the speci- men in a deep dish with some earth at the bottom, which was covered with New River water, and set it before the fire. On the 29th the animal gave no sign ; but on the 30th it came forth and soon showed tokens of vigorous life. It was after- wards removed into a globular glass vase, such as is used for gold and silver fish, with a good layer of earth at the bottom. The water and earth were changed periodically, and the animal continued to live in apparently good health for many weeks. Its death was probably occasioned by the difficulty of resisting the low temperature of the long cold winter nights, where there were no stoves, in short nothing beyond the ordinary fires of a dwelling- house. The specimen is now in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. M. Deshayes proceeds to observe that it became an object of inquiry how aquatic animals, unable to respire except by means of a pectinated branchia, could remain alive so long out of the element ap- parently necessary to their existence. Neariy all the persons, he remarks, who occupied themselves with this phenomenon, thought that the animal on retiring into its shell carried with it a certain quan- tity of water, which could not escape owing to the retention of the operculum, which closes the aper- ture with great exactness. Others thought that the humid air carried upon the branchiae was sufficient to keep up the respiratory action. " Wishing to know," continues M. Deshayes, "whether there were anything in the structure of the animal which could explain the singularity, we soon perceived that the upper wall of the branchia] cavity was doubled, and formed a great pouch, the aperture of which was placed backwards, above the origin of the bran- chiae. Plunged in the water, the animal has this pouch constantly filled with the ambient liquid, and, on retiring into its shell and shutting itself up wider its operculum, this bag still remains filled vyith water, and thus furnishes the necessary mate- rials for the function of respiration. Everything leads us to believe that this is the only cause which permits the AmpullarifB, pectinibranchiated aquatic animals, to remain a long time out of the water without perishing, and this explains also how it hap- pens that in certain lakes which are annually dry Ampullariae are always to be found. When the great heats approach and they plunge themselves into the mud or sand, they preserve in their bran- chial sacs the quantity of water necessary .for them during the whole time of drought." This, as a writer observes, is one of those beautiful provisions which meet the naturalist everywhere. The tropical torrent and lake may yield to the dry season and burning sun, but the Ampullaria, secure in the possession of his water bag, can afford, like the camel in the desert, to wait till the rains fur- nish a fresh supply, and again fill the parched channel. With respect to fossil species of this genus, Mr. G. B. Sowerby states that he is not certain of ttie existence of any ; several, he adds, are mentioned by Lamarck, in the ' Annales du Museum,' among the fossil shells of the environs of Paris ; others, which are thought to be genuine, are fouml in the London clay at Hordwell, and in the mixed stratum between the two fresh-water beds at Headen Hill, in the Isle of Wight. M. Deshayes is of opinion that many fossil species, referred to Natica, ought to find a place in the genus Ampullaria. M. Deshayes goes on to state that up to the time when he wrote (1838) there have hardly been found any fossil species of Ampullaria about which there is not some doubt. Those shells which he has re- tained in the genus, from the character of the aper- ture and the small thickness of the shell, are, he says, never met with except in marine formations, and one may always suspect that the animals which produced them were different from those of the Ampullariae properly so called. As these species have the characters of Ampullaiiae, and we have no means of ascertaining the analogy of the ani- mals, we are obliged to have recourse to the cha- racters of the shells and to determine from them alone. But a little time since, he remarks, the be- lief was general that fossil Ampullariae belonged exclusively to the tertiary beds ; but it is now known that this genus occurs through all the " terrains de sediment," for Mr. Sowerby has recorded a fine spe- cies in the transition beds, and M. Deshayes says that he knows many others in the oolitic series, and even in the lower chalk. (Last edition of Lamarck.) The number of fossil species recorded by M. Deshayes in his tables is fourteen (tertiary). In the last edition of Lamarck the number is sixteen. The genus occurs in the list of the fossils of Lower Styria given by Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison in their valuable paper ' On the Struc- ture of the Eastern Alps' (' Geol. Trans.,' vol. iii. second series), and in Mr. Mantell's ' Tabular Arrangement of the Organic Remains of the County of Sussex '(ibid.). In the last-mentioned catalogue Ampullariae pa- >TOt.— DoubtAil Ampulluii. ?t#:_^' a A.i m 's0v8 •■■^^■iTsnu t7M.— GloUne AapoUui*. 2698 Minute Paludiiu. ten.— Valnta. '00. — Viviparous Palndina. S703. — BamVhom AmpuUaria. 2701 — Doubtful Ampnlluia. 216 2706 — Bitter Melania. «7M.— Eu«d Melinia. 2707. — Awl'Shaped Melania. 2710. — Black Meianopsis. 2708. — Eroded Melanopais. 2709.— Ribbed Melanopsis. 2712.— Greater Eulima. 271!.— Splendid Eulima. No. 78. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 217 218 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Hatkul the Slavonian lanipiase it* name U Rouomaka, in allusion to iti voracity; in Utin, however, it it only known by the fictitious name of Gulo, from its habit* of eorpntt (eulo k frulosilate appella- tur)."— 01. Mae., ' Hi*, de Genf. Septent.' The K'utton is indeed a voracious animal, but by no means formidable to man or the larger beasts, though, in proportion to its size, its sIrenKlh is very great. Slow in its movements, it makes up by per- severance and industry for this defect, and at a steady pace pursues its prev for miles, hunts out weak or dying animals, and destroys hares, mar- mots, and birds, which it seizes unawares. Buffon, relying on the authority of Olaus Magnus, Isbrandt. and others, has contributed to render cur- rent the statement (which many later naturalists have deemed not incredible) that the glutton has recourse to the most subtle artifice in order to sur- prise its victims, and that it lurks in the branches of trees until the reindeer approaches to browse be- neath, when it throws itself upon the unsuspecting animal with unerring rapidity, fixes its strong claws in the skin, and proceeds to tear the neck and throat till the wretched victim falls exhausted and dies, when the victor devours his prey at leisure. Gmelin, in his account of his journey through Siberia, aOer quoting the statement of Isbrandt, adds, "This address of the Glutton managing to seize animals by surprise is confirmed by all hunters." .... "Although it feeds on all animals, living or dead, it prefers the reindeer. It lies in wait for large animals as a robber on the highway, and it also surprises them as they lie asleep." To the circumstance of the Khitton fixing on the rein- deer, and also the elk, Desmarest expressly alludes, evidently relying on the narratives of the earlier writers. On the contrary. Or. Richardson, in his able history of the American Glutton, or wolverene, affirms that no such artifice is resorted to by that variety, and he appears altogether to disbelieve the account. No doubt the details have been exagge- rated, still we are not altogether to throw aside the assurances of old travellers of credit; indeed we think it very probable that the glutton may steal upon the reindeer asleep, or attack enfeebled or dying deer, or young fawns, and fixing on the great blood-vessels of the throat (as the weasel does when attacking the hare), thus destroy its victims. Gmelin, Dr. Richardson, and Mr. Graham agree in the fact that the elutton is extremely annoying to the fur-hunters, visiting their traps and devouring the animals taken in them. In Siberia it rifles the traps of the sable and corsac fox ; and, as Mr. Gra- ham observes, in Northern America it will follow " the marten-hunter's path round a line of traps ex- tending 40.50, or 60 miles, and render the whole unserviceable merely to come at the baits, which are generally the head of a partridge on a bit of dried venison. They are not fond of the martens themselves, but never fail of tearing them in pieces or of burying them in the snow by the side of the path at a considerable distance from the trap. Drifts of snow often conceal the repositories thus made, in which case they furnish a regale to the hungry fox, whose sagacious nostril guides him unerringly to the spot. Two or three foxes are often seen following the wolverene for this purpose." During the sum- mer the beaver is the common prey of this animal. The glutton is nocturnal, cunnins, and deter- mined; it fights very resolutely, and is more than a match for a single dog, its streneth being very great. Its fur is in much request, especially that of the Siberian animal, which is dark and beautifully glossy. The length of the glutton, exclusive of the tail, IS about two feet six fnches: that of the tail, including the long full fur, ten inches. The female breeds once a year, the cubs being from two to four in number. Their fur is soft, downy, and of a pale yellowish white. 966.— TheGrison (Oalictis viltata. Bell); Gulo villatus, Desmaresti Viverra vittata, Linn.; Petit furet, D'Azara; Gri- sonia viltata. Gray; Liitra vitta'a, Traill; Ursus Braziliensis, Tlmnbers: Fouine de la Guyane, Buff. ' Snppl. III.' The grison is a nati\e of the intertro- pical provinces of America, Guiana, Paraguay, and Brazil. It is remarkable for its sanguinary and fierce disposition, and the disgusting odour of the secretion of its scent-glands. A specimen was living some time since in the menaserie of the Zoological Society, and its death afforded us an opportunity of investieating its internal anatomy. (' Zoological Proceedings,' 1833, p. 10.1 In its figure the grison is very eloniratpd, the head is flat, and the muzzle somewhat acute ; the general colour is grizzled black ; the top of the head and neck grey, with a white semi-lunar shaped band across the forehead, extending to the shoulders. I>ength of body one foot six inches ; of tail six inches and a half. A second and larger, species has bef>n characterized by Mr. Bell, under the name of Galictis Allamandi. Linnaeus app ied the name of Mustela barbata to a 'i large musteline animal inhabiting the woods of Brazil and Paraguay, which Azara denominated the Grand Furet and Pennant the Guiana Weasel. By Desmarest it is referred to the genus Gulo. and is termed Gulo Barbulus. This animal is the Taira (or Galera of Brown). Two specimens from Trinidad, differing from each other in colouring, are preserved in the Museum of the Zoological Society. (See • Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1831, p. 74.) To the muste- line group belong the Zoritles of Africa : most writers seem to consider the Zorille as constituting a single species (Zorilla Capensis). We are however of opinion that the Cape species is different from that which we have seen repeatedly from the northern coast of Africa. The Senegal zorille has not come under our notice, but it is stated to differ from the Cape animal. The zorille is lessthan the polecat, and, like that animal, is fierce and exceed- ingly active. It dwells in burrows, which it digs in the ground, concealing itself during the day. The colour of the back is an irregular mixture of black and white in broken or indefinite lines. The head, sides, and under-surface are black, with the ex- ception of a white oval spot on the forehead, and a white mark over each eye. To this genus is appa- rently referable a species from Madagascar, Mustela striata, Geoff. ; Putorius striatus, Cuv. ; Galictis striata of Isidore Geoft'roy. 967.— The Skunk (Mephitis Americana). Several species of these animals, called Mouftettes, Mephitic Weasels, Betes puantes, Enfansdu Diable, &c., are natives of Ame- rica. The genus is intermediate between that of the polecats and the badgers. These animals are notorious for the intolerable odour of the secretion of their glandular pouches, which neither man nor dog can endure. The head is small, the snout pointed, the body robust and covered with long coarse hair, the tail rather long and very bushy. The general colour of the upper surface is white, interrupted by a stripe, more or less broad, of black along the spine ; the limbs and under surface are black. According to Kalm, the skunk of North America " brings forth its young in the hollows of trees and in burrows; it is not con- fined to the ground, but climbs tree ; it is an enemy to birds ; it destroys their eggs and also devours their young ; and when it can enter the poultry roost it makes great destruction. When it is chased either by men or dogs it runs as far as it can or climbs a tree ; but when it finds itself hard pressed, it ejects its fluid against its pursuers : the odour of this is so strong as to suffocate ; if a drop of this pestilential secretion falls in the eyes, it is at the risk of losing sight : and when it falls on the clothes, it communicates an odour so powerful, that it is very difficult to get rid of it ; most dogs fear to attack it, and flee when touched by a drop." Mr. Graham confirms this account, and says that he knew several Indians who had lost their eyesight in consequence of inflammation produced by this fluid having been thrown into them by the animal, which has the power of ejecting it to the distance of upwards of four feet. The odour produces nausea, a sense of suffocation, and not unlrequently fainting. With all this, however, the skunk is uflen taken young and tHmed, when the animal seldom gives out its pestilential secretion : its flesh, more- over, is very frequently eaten, and is said to be well flavoured. It appears that, when the natives kill a skunk, they remove the whole of the glandular Srtcs, in order that no unpleasant smell or flavour may be communicated to the flesh. In the northern latitudes the skunk passes its winter in a hole, sel- bom stirring abroad, and then only for a short dis- tance. It preys on young hares, rats and mice, and has been observed to feed much on frogs. The skunk is about eighteen inches in length, exchisive of the tail, which is nearly as long as the body. Besides the common skunk (Mephitis Americana) four distinct species are in the Museum of the Zoo- losical Society. From the genus Mephitis we pass by an easy transition to that group of the Mustelidae which .includes the Ratel, the Mydaus or Teledu, and the Badgers. 968— Cape Ratel (JRatelus Cnpensis, F. Cuv.) ; Mellivora Capensis, Storr ; Viverra mellivora, and Uisus mellivorus, Blnmenb. ; Taxus mellivorus, Tiedeui. : Meles mellivora, Thunberg ; Ratel, Spanman ,: Honey- weaspl, Sliaw. In their dentition, the ratels closely approximate to the true badgers (Meles^, excepting that the last molar is smaller and narrower in pro- portion from its anterior to its posterior edge (see Fig. 960). The Cape ratel is a thickset clumsy animal, with short limbs, and a partially plantigrade walk. The claws are very robust, the muzzle is elongated, the eyes are small and sunk, and the external ears nearly rudimentary ; the general aspect is badger- like. The Cape ratel is a native of South Africa, and has been celebrated for the destruction it makes among the nests of the wild-bee, to the honey of which it is said to be very partial. Doubtless, how. ever. It avails itself of other food, and probably, like the badger, devours flesh and roots. In the discovery of bees' nests it is said to be directed by the actions and voice of a bird teimedthe Honey-guide (Indi- cator Vaillantii). These insects, in S<,uth Africa, usually build their cells in the deserted excavations of the wild -boar or the porcupine, and from these the ratel digs out its plunder. It preys chiefly in the evening, remaining during the greater portion of the day in its burrow. When taken young, it is easily (domesticated. The hide of the rate! is extremely tough and loose, and, according to Sparrman, if a person catches hold of it by the back part of the neck, it is able to turn round, as it were, in its skin, and bite the arm that molests it The Cape ratel is about two feet six inches long, exclusive of the tail, which is about eight inches! The general colour above is grey, the under parti black, and a white line runs on each side from the ears to the origin of the tail, abruptly dividing these two colours. 970.— Thb Indian Ratel (Ratelus Indirus). This species, though known to Pennant and Shaw (who termed it Ursus Indicus), has only been recently recognised as a distinct species. Lesson was not aware of the difference — nay, neither he nor Desmarest appears to have known of the existence of the Indian ratel ; and General Ilardwicke, who figured it in the ' Linn. Trans.,' vol. xi., makes no allusion to the Cape ratel, appa- rently overlooking their relationship. Mr. Bennett observes that the only difference he has been able to detect between the Asiatic and African animals consists in the absence of the white line dividing the two colours in the Indian species, and which are not so abrupt. The absence of this line we consider to have been an individual peculiarity. The Indian ratel is a native of various provinces of India, on the high banks of the Ganges and the Jumna, where it rarely comes forth from its burrow by day, but prowls at night about the houses of the natives, enters the cemeteries, and with extra- ordinary celerity works its way to the bodies re- cently interred, which it greedily devours. It feeds also upon rats, birds, &c. When taken young, the' Indian ratel is easily tamed and becomes playful. It is fond of climbing, but its actions are clumsy, though it securely traverses the larger branches. Its voice is a deep hoarse guttural t)aik. (See ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' 1835, p. 113.) The following description of a specimen from Madras, in the menagerie of the Zoological Society, is from the pen of Mr. Bennett : — '• As far as if» manners have yet been developed, it appears to be, with regard to man at least, one of the most play- ful and good tempered of beasts, soliciting the attention of almost every visitor by throwing its clumsy body into a variety of antic postures, and when noticed, tumbling head over heels with every symptom of delight. But towards animals it ex- hibits no such mildness of temper; and it is curious to observe the cat-like eagerness with which it watches the motions of any of the smaller among them that happened to pass before its den, and the instinctive dread manifested by the latter on per- ceiving it. Its food is of a mixed nature, consist- ing, like that of the hears and other less carnivorous beasts, of bread and milk in the morning, and flesh in the latter part of the day." (' Zoological Gar- dens.') Allied to the ratels is the teledu (Mydaus meli- ceps'', an animal confined to the mountain districts of .Java, and which resembles the badger in its habits. It is well described by Dr. Horsfield in the ' Zoological Researches.' 971, 972.— Thk Badger {Meles vulgaris). The approximation of this ani- mal to some of the Ursida; is evident ; yet is there still an important line of demarcation. All the Ursidie have two true molars; in the true ursine group the posterior molar is long ; in the aberrant group, including Ailurns, Piocyon, Nasua, and Ceicoleptes, the two molars are nearly equal in size. In the badger, the ratel, &c., as in the polecats, there is but one true molar. That of the upper- jaw in the badger is very large (see Fig. 973, the teeth of the badger), and adapted for the mastica- tion of vegetable aliment. The badger is extensively spread through Euroj^e and Asia ; it is recluse and nocturnal in its habits, frequenting deep woods, where it makes a deep commodious burrow, for the excavation of which its short muscular limbs and powerful claws are well adapted. The burruw has only one entrance, leading into diflerent chambei-s, and terminating in one of a circular form, which is comfortably lined with grass and hay. Here the animal spends the day in Badgers.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 219 repose, moving out only at night, in search of food. It feeds upon roofs, fruits, insects, frogs, young rabbits, field-mice, &c., as well as upon the eggs and young of partridges and pheasants, &c. It is said to attack the nests of the wild-bee, plundering the store of honey, and alto devouring the larvae, without dread of the stings of the enraged insects, which cannot penetrate its thick toush skin. The badger measures about two leet three inches in the length of the head and body, that of the tail being seven inches and a half. The head is long and pointed, the ears close, the body broad, stout and low, the hair trailing along the ground as the animal moves along. The fur is full, coaree, and deep; its general colour above is biownish grey, lighter on the sides and tail : the under parts are black, as are also the legs and feet. The head is white, with a black stripe extending from the shoulder over the ear and eye almost to the muzzle. From its colour, this animal is in some parts called the grey ; its old Anglo Saxon name is Broc, a word still retained in Scotland and the adjacent counties of England. It has a glandular subcaudal pouch. The badger is by no means active or alert, and is generally observed to be very fat, as is the case with most animals that lead a tranquil, indolent life, and feed upon vegetable as well as animal diet. It is nowhere very common, especially in the more cultivated countries, where the woods are thinned, and its solitudes invaded by the axe. The female produces fiom three to five young in the summer, having prepared a nest in her deep burrow for their reception. They are nursed for five or six weeks, and then begin to shift for them- selves. When taken at an early age, the badger may be tamed with little trouble, and soon becomes playful, and very attached to its keepers. Though harmless and indisposed to enter unnecessarily into % combat, yet it shows when assaulted great spirit and resolution, and is no mean antagonist for a dog twice its own weight to grapple with ; its general muscular power is great ; its skin is loose and touph, and well protected by coarse shaggy fur, and its bife is dreadfully severe ; indeed the jaws are endowed with astonishing strength, and the lower one at its joint or hinge with the skull is so locked as to be inseparable, the cavity into which the condyle is fitted being modified in such a manner as to retain it permanently in its place. From its prowess and bodily qualifications the badger was lormerly in much request for the brutal sport of baiting, a favourite and exciting pastime, gratifying to those who are indifferent to the pain they inflict and incapable of purer pleasures. The skin of the badger is not without value in commerce. It makes excellent pistol-holsters, and the hair is used for painters' brushes and various other purposes. The flesh, or at least the hams of this animal are said to be palatable, and to resemble those of the bear, for which a relish has been felt or affected by sportsmen epicures. In China, the badger, as " Honest John Bell " the traveller states, may be seen in the meat markets by dozens. In America a species of badger, the Me!e« Labradorica, is widely spread: this species, accoiding to some naturalists, forms the tyi)e of a distinct genus. (Tax- idea, Waterhou^'e ; see ' Proceedings of the Zoologi- cal Society,' 1838, p. 153.) 974. — The Indian Badger (Arctonyx collaris, F. Cuv.) ; Meles collaris ; Bal- loo-soor, Hindustanee. This animal was first de- scribed and figured by Bewick, in his 'History of Quadrupeds' (from a living specimen kept in the Tower about the year 1790), under the title of Sand- .Bear. Bewick at once recognised its affinity to the badger, but, ignorant of the country from which it was brought, suspected it to be the white badger of North America described by Brisson ; a mistake we may readily pardon. Not aware that any English wriler had de^cribed it, Duvaucel, who saw two in- dividuals at Barrackpore, in the menagerie of the governor- general, considered the species as al- together new. Fred. Cuvier regarded it as the type of a distinct genus. The size of the sand-hog, for such is the meaning of the term balloo-soor (not Bali-saur, as Duvaucel writes it, norBhalloo-soor, which signifies bear-pig), is that of a badger, but it stands higher on the legs, and its snout is elongated and truncated at the ex- tremity like that of a hog. The ears are small, covered with hair, and surrounded by a circle of white. The muzzle is flesh-colour, and nearly naked ; two black bands run on each side of the head, and unite near the muzzle; the larger of these bands on each side passes round the eye to the ear, and along the neck and shoulder, to unite with the black colour prevailing on the fore-limbs. The general colour of the body above is yellowish-white, the hairs on the back being coarse and tipped with black. The under surface is very thinly clothed, and the tail resembles that of a hog. The toes (five on each loot) are united together their whole length. and armed with large strong claws adapted for dig- ging. Of the habits of this animal in iis natural condition little is known. The individuals, a male and female, observed in the menagerie of the go- vernor-general at Barrackpore by Duvaucel, were remarkably shy and wild. The female, however, was less savage than the male, and showed a certain degree of intelligence, which gave reason to believe that, if taken young, this animal might be easily domesticated. They passed the greater part of the day buried beneath the straw of their den in deep sleep. All their movements were remarkably slow. Though they did not altogether refuse animal food, yet they exhibited a marked predilection ior bread, fruits, and other substances of a vegetable nature. When irritated, they uttered a peculiar kind of grunting noise, and bristled up the hair of their back ; if still further tormented, they would raise themselves upon their hind-legs like a bear, and appeared, like that animal, to possess a power in their arms and claws not less formidable than their teeth. This is confirmed by Mr. Johnson, in his ' Sketches of Indian Field-Sports.' " Badgers in India," says he, "are marked exactly like those in England, but they are larger and taller, are ex- ceedingly fierce, and will attack a number of dogs. I have seen dogs that would attack a hyaena or wolf afraid to encounter them. They are scarce, but occasionally to be met with among the hills." 975, 976, 977, 978.— The Otter (Lutra wlgaris) ; Mustela Lufra, Linn. This, there can be little doubt, is the iwSpts (Enhydris) of Aristotle and the Greeks, and the Lutra of the an- cient Italians. It is the Lodra, I.odria, and Lontra of the modern Italians ; Nutria and Lutra of the Spanish ; Loutre of the French ; Otter and Fisch Otter of the Germans ; Otter of the Dutch ; Utter of the Swedes; Odder of the Danes; Dyfigi of the Welsh; Balgair, Cu-donn (Brown Dog), and Matadh of the Northern Celts ; and Otter of the modern British. On introducing the otter to notice, we may ob- serve that these animals seem to conduct the Mus- telidae to the seals ; though it must be confessed the dentition of the latter is modified on a different and peculiar type. The otters in fact constitute an aquatic group of the Mustelae; indeed many of the true weasels resort occasionally to the water in quest of prey ; the vison of North America (Mustela vison), and a near ally, the Mustela lutreola of northern Europe and Asia, for example, are aquatic and otter-like in their habits ; and approximate to the otter in form. The otters are distinguished by the peculiar breadth and flatness of the head, and the rounded outline of the muzzle ; the lips being large and fleshy, and furnished with strong whiskcis, which are evidently the communicators of feeling ; the ears are very small, and close to the skull ; and the eyes, of moderate size, are provided with a nictitating membrane as a defence to their surface. The tail, which in most aquatic mammalia is an important instrument, is lung, but very stout and muscular at the base, somewhat compressed horizontally, and tapering gradually to the extremity. In swimming and diving it is used as a rudder, enabling the animal to turn rapidly and abruptly, and assisting it to perform its varied and gracelul manoeuvres while in chace of its finny prey. The tongue is somewhat rough. The body is elongated and flattened, and the limbs are short and stout ; the toes (five on each foot) are webbed, and spreading ; the soles are naked. On land the progression of the otter is plantigrade, and by no means free or rapid : hence it trusts to the water for safety, making to it when attacked or in any danger. The lur of these animals at once indicates their aquatic habits ; it is close, short, and fine, consisting of a thii.k woolly undercoat, and an upper layer of smooth glossy hairs. In their dentition (Fig. 979) the otters difter little from the polecats, martens, and shunks, the false molars being - — ^ ; carnassiere, r; — ; ; tuber- 3-3' 1—1. 1—1' culous, - — -■ Fig. 980 represents the skeleton of the common European Otter. This well-known species is by no means confined to the lakes and rivers of Europe, but abounds also on many parts of the coast, and is common on the shores of Scotland and Ireland, as well as on the rocky Hebrides and Shetland Islands, where it dwells in hollows and caverns, going out to sea to fish, or entering the mouthsof rivers, and making sad havoc among the salmon, on which account, in Antrim, where it hides among the basaltic masses on the east coast, a price is set ujion its head. The otter is nocturnal, night being the period in which it carries on its work of slaughter ; sly and recluse, it lurks by day in its deep burrow, the mouth of which is concealed among masses of stone ; the luxuriant herbage of some steep bank which over- hangs the water, or beneath the twisted roots of an overshadowing tree. The movements of the otter in the water are re- markably graceful, and it swims at every depth with great velocity ; every now and then it comes lor a moment to the surface to breathe, previously expelling the air pent up in its lungs, which rising in bubbles marks its subaquatic course. Having taken breath afresh, it dives noiselessly like a shot, and gives chace to its prey, which it follows through every turn and maze, till at length the exhausted victim can no longer evade the jaws of its rapacious foe. Whoever has witnessed the feeding of those which from time to time have been kept in the gardens of the Zoological Society, cannot fail to have remarked the fine sweep ot the body as the animal plunges into the water, its undulating move- ments while exploring its prey, the swiftness and pertinacity of the puisuit, and then the easy turn to the surface with the captured booty. This is ge- nerally devoured before the chace of another fish is commenced ; sometimes, however, instead of treat- ing them thus separately, the olter contrives to bring up several at a time, managing not only to seize them, but to carry them hanging from its mouth. In eating them it commences with the head, which it crushes in an instant between its teeth, flight or ten moderate-sized fish serve for a single meal, but it is well known that in a state of nature the otter slaughters a much larger number of fish than it devours : hence some idea may be formed of the havoc occasioned by a pair of otters in support of themselves and their young. Indeed the animal seldom devours more of a fish than the head and upper portion of the body. When fish is scarce, the otter will feed on frogs and water-rats. Mr. Bell informs us that " when driven by a scanty supply of fish, it has been known to resort tar inland to the neighbourhood of the farm-} aid, and attack lambs, sucking-pigs, and poultry, thus assuming for a time the habits of its more terrestrial congeners." In winter, when the smaller streams and ponds are frozen, the otter wanders in search of places in the river, the depth of which secures them against the effects of the frost, or travels down the smaller streams to the large river, into which they merge, and there continues its work of destruction. It is during the spring and summer months, while the young of the otter are dependent upon the mothers care, that the destruction she makes among the fish is most considerable ; she has not only her own wants, but those of her offspring to provide for, and her exertions during the silent houis of night are unremitting. The track she leaves in the mud or the soft soil on the water's edge, as she goes to and fro from her retreat, witnesses the extent of her labours, and also their success: a fish-preserve, if near her haunt, at this season suffers immensely from her depredations, and is certain to be visited night after night until none but the smaller fry remain. The mill-dams of trout-streams are also favourite fishing-places of this cunning animal, and are often sadly thinned of the finest fish. Nor is the injury done by the otter confined to the mere destruction of fish for food; its presence militates against their increase, inasmuch as they are scared by their enemy from their spawning-places, and prevented from depositing their spawn so as to se- cure the vivification of the ova, to the mortification of all " honest anglers." Izaak Walton says "■ an otter will sometimes go five or six or ten miles a night to catch for her young ones, or glut herself with fish ; " but it also as often happens that where the otter finds a piece of water replete with prey, that it there takes up its abode, and perhaps carries on for weeks, unsuspected, its depredations. In- dependently, however, of the footsteps of the otter betraying its residence in the vicinity, the circum- stance of its always voiding its spiaint, or dung, on one spot often leads to its discovery ; the undigested remains of fish, their bones and scales, denote the nature of their devourer ; and the alarm of an otter in the neighbourhood is soon followed by a search for the delinquent. Otter-hunting was among the favourite field-sports of our ancestors, and is still eagerly carried on in the islands of Scotland, where the difficulties of the chace, from the rocky, broken nature of the shore, add to the excitement. Figs. 981 and 982 are spi- rited illustrations of an otter-hunt in the Hebrides. The otter is intelligent, and when taken young easily tamed, and may be taught to assist the fisher- man, by driving shoals to the nets, or by catching salmon. Daniel, Bewick, Shaw, and Goldsmith re- cord instances in which the otter has been domes- ticated, as do also Mr. Bell and Mr. Macgilhvray ; the late Bishop Heber noticed in India, on one oc- casion, a number of otters tethered by long strings to bamboo slakes on the water's edge, and was in- formed that it was customary to keep them tame in consequence of their utility in driving the shoals of fish into the nets, as well as of bringing out the larger fish with their teeth. 2 1" 2 t7l1.— Suiflih Stylifei. ^^i "^■^e.^ S7 1 4. -Fragile Jutlilna. S71S. — Litiof*, magnified. S715 —Oceanic Snail, Swimming. 2780.— Acute Ilipponvx. 1719.— Awl-ahaped Stylifer. S718.— Tuiton's Stylifer. 2721.— Acute Hipponyx. *7Mr-Common PUeopaia. 2716.— Striated Leptoconchiu. 220 3727.— Leach's Cryptosome. 2723.~Hipponyi! cornucopia : Foisil. 2729.— Velutina levigata. 87S0. — Convex Sigaretus. 2726. — Sigaretus haliotoideus. 2728.— Velutina capuloidea. 8730.— Ordinary Cone. 2724. — Black Coriocella. 221 Hi MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. OlTKHa. The common European otter mea»urei about two feet two inches in the length of the head and bodv, the tail being one foot four inches. Unusual weight ii from twenty to twenty four pounds, but instances have been known in which it has attained the weight of forty pounds. Those that freiiuent the sea-coast are generally larger and darker- coloured than the otter* of inland rivers or sheeU of water. The female produces from three to five young, and is devoted to them, nursing them with the greatest •isiduity. ... A variety, spotted with white, is sometimes seen ; this is regarded by the Scotch peasantry as the king of the otiere, and they hold that it bears a chwined life, and is never killed without the sudden death of some man or other animal at the instant it expires itself. The skin is considered as a sure preservative from infection, wounds, and dangers of the sea. 983.— Th« S«A-OTr«B (Enhudra marina. Fleming). Lutra marina, Steller ; Mustela lutris, Linn.; Enydris Stelleri, Fischer; Kalan of the natives of Kamtchatka. This remark- able animal in many respects approaches nearer the seals than the otters of the genus Lutra, and may be regarded as an intermediate link between the two groups. We have fortunately been enabled to exa- mine its skeleton (see ' Zool. Proceeds.,' 1836. p. 58), which to the comparative anatomist presents cha- racters of great interest. The muzzle in the sea- otter is blunt and short, the ears are rounded, the body cylindrical, the fore-limbs are extremely short, the paws small and impacted in skin to the end of the toes, the sole being naked and granular. The hind-legs are short, but placed as far back as pos- sible ; the thigh-bone is thick, with a round head, destitute, as in the seals, of the ligamentum teres ; the hind-foot or paddle is of great length and breadth ; and the toes (five in number) are regu- larly graduated from the inner, which is the smallest, to the outer toe, which is the longest and stoutest : they are all united by webs to the very tin. The claws are small. The dentition is as ■^ g J J 4 4 follows :— Incisors ■-, canines, - — -, molars - — ;:. Of 4 1 — 1 5 — o the molars above, the first is very small and conical, the second is larger; the third, or carnassiere, is laige and compressed, with three rounded tubercles on its surface ; the last molar is still larger, flat, with a slishtly elevated and rounded edge. Of the five molars below, the three first increase gradually in size ; the fourth is large and flat, with three small and rounded tubercles ; the last is small and flat. The tail is rather short, and when the hinder paddles are stretched out in the act of swimming, this organ will appear placed between almost as much as it is in the seals. The sea-otter is a native of the north-west coast of America, from California to latitude 60°, and of the opposite coast of Asia, from the Yellow Sea to the north of Kamtchatka and the intermediate islands. Its fur, which is of a black colour, some- times chestnut-brown, and occasionally even yellow, is soft, full, and beautiful, and is an object of com- merce, being procured by the Russians for the Chinese market, where it sells for a high price. This animal haunts sea-washed rocks, and lives mostly in the water, where it procures its food, which consists of fish, and, as is indicated by the characters of the teeth, which are evidently formed for bruising hard substances, shelled mollusks, and Crustacea. In summer the sea-otter often ascends the rivers to the inland lakes. The female produces on land a single cub. The average length of this species is three feet, exclusive of the tail, which measures about ten inches. Family PH0CID.5 (Seals). Of all four-limbed mammalia the seals (Phocidae) are those which most display in every part of their organization a fitness for the watery element. The body is elongated, and conical, tapering from the chest to the tail (see skeleton. Fig. 984), the pelvis lieing so narrow as not to interrupt the gradual de- crease. The spine is provided with muscles capable of inflecting it with considerable force. The clothing consists of short, stiff, glossy hairs, very closely set, and adpressed against the skin. The limbs are oars or paddles. The anterior pair have the humerus and fore-arm so short, that little more than the paw alone advanoes from the body : this in reality consists of five tingi-rs, but they are im- pacted in skin, the nails, which are flat, indicating their number. The hinder limbs are directed b.ick- wards, and terminate the body ; the bones are short and strong, and the hip-joints want the ligamentum teres. The feet are broad-webbed paddles, consist- ing of five toes, the central of which is the shortest, the outer one on each side the longest : when not in action the webs of these paddles are folded, and the toes in contact, but when brought into use they spread and eflect a broad surface. Between these paddles is the short and compressed tail. On land 01 masses of ice these animals are very awkward and clumsy, but they scuttle along by the action of the anterior paddles, dragging their hinder quarters aflei them, and manage to proceed with tolerable rapidity; they can also climb rocks and crags of ice. The neck in these aquatic animals is very long and singulariy flexible; the head is round, with a large full fleshy muzzle, furnished with long stiff whiskers ; the nostrils are valvular, and capable of being closed at will ; the eyes are large and dark, with a mild intelligent expression, and are adapted for subaquatic vision. The external ears are either wanting or very small, and the auditory orifice is valvular ; the tongue is almost smooth, and fs abrupt and indented at its tip ; the brain is large ; the lungs voluminous ; the stomach capacious. The internal arrangement of the venous system is very remarkable, and adapted so bj* to effect a sort of reservoir for the blood, which naturallv accumu- lates in it when the circulation is impeded during the suspension of breathing, as is perpetually the case, as the animals are pursuing their prey beneath the surface of the water. Between the skin, which is very tough, and the muscles, there intervenes a fibrous loose elastic tissue of a dark red tint ; indeed the muscles are dark, a.id the blood of a blacker hue than in most mammalia. From the anterior part of the breastbone (sternum) a long cartilaginous continuation projects forwards for the more exten- sive attachment of the voluminous muscles acting upon the anterior paddles. The arteries of the limbs are plexiform, as we have described them in the Loris (page 47). The varying forms of the skull in the Phocidae will be easily appreciated by reference to our pic- torial specimens. With respect to the teeth, we may describe them as prehensile ; they are not formed for grinding, but for seizing the slippery prey and dividing its flesh into large portions. Their number is very different in the different species, nor less so are the minor details of their structure. The incisors are six or four above, and four or two below ; the canines are large and strong ; the molars are either simply conical or furnished with cutting edges, and more or less deeply notched with a large central point. Without entering into any disquisition respecting the genera into which the seals are divided, and their arrangement — a point of the less importance, as our knowledge of the group is at present confessedly imperfect— we shall proceed at once to comment upon the speci- mens before us. 98.0, 986.— The Common Seal (Phoca vitulind). Calocephalus vitulinus, F. Cuvier; Le Veau marin and Phoque commun of the French ; Vecchio marino of the Italians : Lobo marino of the Spanish ; Meerwolf and Meerhund of the Germans; Zeehund of the Dutch; Seel-hund of the Danes; Sial of the Swedes; and Moelrhon of the ancient British. For the general characters of the skull, in the genus Plioca, or Calocephalus of F. Cuvier, refer- ence may be made to Fig. 987, an upper view; Fig. 988, an under view ; and Fig. 989, a profile of the Plioca Monachiis. Fig. 990 illustrates the 5 5 dentition. Molars, '- — -. o — o The Phoca vitulina of Linnaeus has only within the last few years been disengaged from con- fusion ; three di^tiMct species, according to Nilsson, having been included under that denomination, viz.. Ph. variegata. Ph. annellata, and Ph. leporina. To the first of these the term vitulina is really applicable, and the term variegata, given by Nilsson, must be abandoned. The common seal is found along the shores of temperate Europe, and is com- mon on many parts of the Scottish coast, and also of those of England and Ireland. It is gregarious in its habits, and haunts caverns and recesses among the rocks, to which the females retire to breed. The young are generally two in number, and the mother nurses them with great assiduity and affection, taking them out to sea very early. When surprised basking on the shore, which the seal often does, luxuriating in the sun, its first effort is to make for the water; but if intercepted, it shows fight, and with a growl turns on its adversary, who, unless he avoid the attack, is in some danger, for the animal has great power and weight (oilen two hundred and twenty-four pounds) : having over- set its antagonist, it shuffles to the water, and there disappears. All are familiar with Sir Walter Scott's humorous narrative of Hector Mac Intyre's discom- fiture by a " phoca." (' The Antiquary.') The voice of the seal is a graft' grunt, not unlike that of a pig. but when wounded itoften utters a peculiar moan- ing sound. These animals are sagacious and watch- ful, and while half-slumbering on the beach their customary caution seldom leaves them, for one of their number is usually placed a little higher on the rock than the others, and he seems constantly awake, and ever and anon upraises his " grim feature," scenting the windward air. Flatfish, especially flounders, are the favourite food of this species, at least oft' the coast of Colonsay, where it is common. In the estuary of the Tees it makes great havoc among the salmon. This seal is hunted, as are others also, for the sake of its skin and blubber. The fishing commences in autumn, and is practised by means of nets stretched across narrow sounds where the seals are in the habit of swimming. In these nets they are entangled, but it is only the young that can be thus captured ; the old onles are shot, or their recesses and caves are entered at night by boatmen with torches and bludgeons, upon which the animals, alarmed by the glare and the shouts of the men, rush tumiiltuously forward to the sea, and as they push along in con- fusion and terror they are knocked on the head with clubs, the men being duly stationed for the purpose. Ihe common seal can remain under water for about five minutes, and swims so rapidly that, if • alarmed, it will proceed nearly half a mile during that period. The seal is intelligent and docile, and easily domesticated ; it becomes attached like a dog to its master, and may be readily taught to assist in! fishing. Many anecdotes respecting tame seaUl are recorded. Few animals have a finer sense of* hearing, and musical sounds appear to afford it great delight. Laing, in his account of a voyage toj Spitzbergen, states that the violin, when played on board the vessel, would generally draw around it »' numerous audience of seals, which would continue to follow it for miles. Sir Walter Scott alludes to the same curious fact in the following lines: — " Rude Heiikar'i seals Uirougli surges dark Will long pursue the minstrel's bark." The common seal is from four to five feet in length ; its colour is yellowish-grey, more or less dappled and spotted with dusky-brown. Figs. 991 and 992 represent seal-hunting in Scot- land, but the seal figured is not the common seal ; it IS a much larger and fiercer species, viz., the grey seal, Halichaerus Gryphus (Phoca Gryphus, Fabri- cius), which is also common round the Farn Islands. (See Mr. Selby's obse.'vafions in 'Ann. and Mag. Hist. Nat.,' February, 1841, p. 462.) This species has till lately been confounded with another, viz., the Phoca barbata, which is rarely if ever seen on our coasts. The grey seal is of great size, sometimes attaining the length of twelve feet, and producing upwards of twenty gallons of oil. It swims and dives with wonderful rapidity, but from its curiosity olten comes within range of the rifle, for as the boats ap- proach it while reposing on the rocks, or swimming on the water, it raises its head and remains for many minutes gazing at the objects of its attention. The grey seal has but little intelligence, and cannot be tamed. The young, which are produced in August, grow rapidly, and are able to follow their dams to the water within a fortnight after birth. Mr. Newman, in his interesting ' Notes on Irish Natural History ' (' Mag. Nat. Hist.,' December, 1839, p. 375), observes that "these seals are most abundant all round the coast of Cunnemara, Irom Galway to the Killery ; indeed, I imagine, on every part of the coast of Ireland : they are strong, reso-j lute, and ferocious animals, and totally different from the Phoca vitulina, which is in these respectJi the reverse. The Halichierus Gryphus grows occa- sionally to an enormous size, sometimes attaining even the length of twelve feet, and Mr. Ball ot Dublin told me of one he had kihed at Howlh Harbour, which he believed to weigh five hundred pounds. Phoca vitulina occurs not unfreqiiently on the north coast of Ireland, and among the Scotch islands, but it appears to be nearly expelled from the southern half of Ireland by the more powerful and savage species above referred to. " Mr. Selby records one killed in the Farn Islands, weighing upwartls of forty-seven stone, fourteen pounds to the stone. The Grey Seal is stated by Nilsson to be solitaiy in the Baltic ; but such is not the case either on the Farn Islands or the coast of Ireland, where it tenants caves and rocks, in parties of tweKe or fourteen, or perhaps more. No doubt, like the Common Seal, it is olten seen alone. 993.— The Harp Seal {Phoca Grmnlandica). The native regions of this seal are the shores of Greenland, Newfoundland, Iceland, Kamtchatka, &c. It is one of the species in the chace of which the Greeiilandcr encoun- ters so many perils. Crantz, in his history of Greenland, states, that it is there ca.led Attar- soak. " It has a pointed head and big body, and is, when full grown, nearly three yards long ; it is then almost all of a white grey colour, and has a black figure on its back like two half-moons, with their horns in a uniform direction towards one ano- Seals.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE 223 other. But there are others somewhat blackish all over. All seals vary aniu:aily in colour till thty are full-grown, but no soit so much as this, and the Greenlanders vary its name according to its age. In the first year it is called Attarak, and is of a cream colour : in the second year, Atteisiak : it is then grey : in the third year, Aglektok ; it is then painted : ill the I'oiuth year it is Milektok ; spotted: in the fifth year, Attaisoak ; it then wears its half-moon, the signal of maturity." It is singular that the Greenland Seal, in its immature livery, occasionally visits the British shores and also the coasts of Fiance. In the ' Pro- ceedings of the British Institution' for 1836, there is an account of two caught in the Severn; one cap- tured on the coast of Fiance lived for some time in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. Fred. Cuvier, considering it a new species, gave it the title of Calocephalus (Phoca) discolor. Professor Nilsson also regarded the immature as a distinct species, and characterized it as such under the name of Phoca annellata. The titles, therefore, discolor and annellata, must both merge into Gioenlandica. Fig. 9y4 is the immature Harp-Seal, the Phoca discolor of F. Cuvier, from a specimen which was captured on the coast of France, and lived for several weeks in the Paris Menagerie. M. F. Cuvier declares that he never knew any wild animal that was more easily tamed or attached itself more strongly. When it first came to the Jardin des Plantes, it did its best to escape when M. F. Cuvier tried to touch it; but in a very few days its timidity vanished, and it rather courted his caresses than shunned them. In the same enclosure with it were two little dogs, and they amused themselves by mounting on the seal's back, barking, and even biting it : the seal, however, took it in good part, and seemed pleased with them, though it would sometimes give them shght blows with its paws, as if more to encourage their play than repress their liberties. When the little dogs made their way out of the enclosure, the seal tried to follow them, not deferred by the rough and stony ground. In cold weather they all three huddled kindly and warmly together. If the dogs snatched the fish from the seal's mouth when he was feeding, he bore it pa- tiently ; but he exhibited very different conduct to another seal, who shared his mess; for they generally had a fight over their meal, the combat ending, as usual, in the defeat of the weakest. 995. — The Sea-Leopard (Stenorhynchus leopardinus) ; St. Weddellii, Les- son ; Phoca leopardina, Jamieson. The genus Stenorbynchus is characterized by the prominence of the muzzle and the jagged form of the teeth, vrhich have each a bold acute middle tubercle, and an anterior and posterior acute tubercle of smaller size, separated from the middle one by a deep notch. Claws very small. Dental formula : — Incisors, - ; canines, ; (See Fig. 996.) Fig. 997 repre- j5 5 molars, ' — =32. 5 — 5 sents the skull of a species of Stenorbynchus. Of the habits of the Sea-Leopard little is ascer- tained. It inhabits the South Shetlands (south of Terra del Fuego), in 60° 37' S. lat., and attains to the length of eleven feet. The hair is soft and thin, greyish above, yellowish on the under parts : the whole of the upper surface is spotted with whitish. The claws are sharp, black, curved, and grooved. 998.— The Crested Seal (Stemmatopus cristalus). In the genus Stemma- topus the head is surmounted by a curious hood- like appendage, the nature of which is not well understood. Molars with simple roots, short, wide, and striated only on the crown: muzzle narrow, 4 1 ] and obtuse. Dentition : — Incisors, r ; canines, ; Z 1 — 1 molars, '^^ = 30. (See Fig. 999.") Fig. ItXX) repre- sents the skull. The crested seal is a native of Greenland and various parts of the coast of North America. Crantz says it is called Neitsersoak by the Green- landers, and also Clapmutz, from the "thick folded skin on its forehead, which it can draw down over its eyes like a cap to defend them against the storrns, waves, stones, and sand." The apparatus consi>ts of a cartilaginous crest which arises from the muzzle and increases rapidly in height as it passes backwards, beins about seven inches high at its posterior edge, which is separated into two planes by an intervening depression an inch deep : this cartilaginous appendage is a development of the septum of the nose, and it runs into the hood or sac-like appendage of the head, which is strongly muscular, with circular fibres round its two orifices at the snout like no.stril.s, the true nostiils opening '•n each side of the cartilaginous crBst benrath the | hood, and are of an oblong figure. In the females and young the curious apparatus is undeveloped, being peculiar to the adult male. The eyes, which are capable of being drawn deeply into the socket during repose, are eminently formed for discerning distant objects. The fur is soft, long, and woolly beneath ; in old individuals it is black, silvered on the under parts. In young animals it is grey, spotted irregularly with brown. The dilatable sac which crowns the head is covered with short brown hair. The crested seal attains to the length of eight feet. It liaunis the open sea, and is said to visit the land chiefly in April, May, and June. These ani- mals are commonly seen on large ice-islands, where they sleep without piecaution. Great numbers are found in Davis's Straits, wliere they are stated to make two voyages a year — in September and March. They depart to bring forth their young, and return in June very lean and exhausted. In July they proceed again to the north, where they appear to procure plenty of food, for they return in high condition in September. One male is lord of many females. They fight among themselves very desperately, inflicting deep wounds with the claws and teeth. Their bite is indeed very formidable. The vnice of this seal is stated to resemble the bark and whine of a dog. Great numbers of the skins of this animal are bro"tight to England, and it is one of those seals which are so valuable to the Green- landers. It is the Phoca cristata of Gmelin, the Phoca leo- nina of Fabiicius. 1001, 1002.— The Elephant-Seal (Macrorhinus proboscideus) ; Bottle-Nose of Pen- nant; Phoque a trompe of Peron ; Miouroung of the Australians. In the genus Macrorhinus the males have the power of lengthening their large moveable snout into a proboscis resembling that of the tapir, through which, when excited, they respire violently. The teeth consist of four incisors above and two below, formed like the canines : the canines themselves are very large, conical, and re- 5 5 curved : the molars are , with simple roots far u o exceeding in circumference the crowns, which are mere mammillary projections (see Fig. 1003). Fig. 1004 represents the skull of Macrorhinus. The whiskers are strong, coarse, long, and screw- twisted ; the eyes are large and prominent ; the paddles well developed, the nails small ; hair short and close ; its colour greyish or bluish grey, rarely blackish brown. Length from twenty to thirty feet, girth from fifteen to eighteen feet. In the female there is no proboscis ; the colour is dark olive- brown above, passing into yellowish bay on the under parts. The hair lies in patches in all direc- tions, giving a spotted appearance to the body somewhat like watered-silk. No nails on the hind- toes. The elephant-seal is a native of the southern hemisphere, both in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern oceans, between 35° and 55° S. lat., Ker- guelen's Land, South Georgia, Juan Fernandez, South Shetland, and the Falklands. This huge seal lives in troops, which at certain seasons frequent various islands in the southern seas, especially where fresh-water lakes or swamps, in which they delight to wallow, are easily accessible. They are in fact migratory animals, advancing with the winter season towards the tropic of Capricorn, and towards the south in the summer. It is in the middle of June that they perform their first migration, covering, in countless multitudes, the shores of King Island, which, as the sailors report, are sometimes black- ened by them. Here the females produce their young, and, as it is affirmed, the males form a line between the females and the sea, while the latter are nursing their cnbs, in order to prevent the pos- sibility of their deserting their charge, even for the shortest space of time. The period of nursing and imprisonment lasts for seven or eight weeks, during which time the females are debarred from food, and become extremely emaciated ; some, it is said, occa- sionally perish. The growth of the young is very rapid. Alter birth they measure between four and five feet, but in eight days are double their original dimensions, and in the third year are from eighteen to twenty-five feet in length. At this period the proboscis begins to be developed in the male. When the term of imprisonment has expired, the whole troop, young and all, visit the sea, where the females soon recover their strength and condition, and where they sojourn for about a month, vihen they again visit the shore, which now becomes the arena of most furirns conflicts between the adult males, the females '•emaining passive spectators. When these scenes of bloodshed and excitement have ended, the tioop, under the guidance of a leader, leave the shores of the islands in lat. 33-, and migrate southwards towards the antarctic circle, where they spend the summer months. Jt is ob- served, however, that a few remain in the former localities, even during the summer, probably in con- sequence of being disabled by wounds or debility from undertaking the ordinary journey. As soon as the frost commences in the low southern latitudes, the herds begin their return towards the tropic, and in June have arrived at their accustomed breeding places. Captain Carmichael, in his description of the island of Tristan d'Acunha (see ' Linn. Trans.,' vol. xii.), observes that a full-grown male will yield seventy gallons of oil ; indeed, as they crawl along, their body trembles like a great bag of jelly. " These seals pass the greater part of their time on shore: they may be seen in hundreds lying asleep along the sandy beach, or among the long grass which borders the sea-shore. These huge animals are so little apprehensive of danger, that they must be kicked or pelted with stones before they make any effort to move out of ones way. When roused irom their slumber, they raise the fore-part of their body, open wide their mouth, and display a for- midable set of tusks, but never attempt to bite. Should this, however, fail to intimidate their dis- turbers, they set themselves at length in motion, and make Ibr the water, but with such delibera- tion, that on an excursion we once made to the opposite side of the island, two of our party were tempted to get upon the back of one of them, and rode him fairly into the water." These animals taken young are easily tamed, and become very affectionate ; one petted by an English seaman be- came so attached to his master from kind treatment for a few months, that it would come at his call, allow him to mount upon its back, and put his hands into its mouth. The voice of the male is deep, hoarse, and terrific, and may be heard at a great distance ; that of the females and young is a kind of loud bellowing. The food of the elephant-seal appears in great part to consist of cuttle-fish and seaweed, the beaks of the former and remains of the latter, often mixed with pebbles, being commonly found in the stomach. It is for the oil of this species principally, which, besides being yielded in great abundance, is clear and inodorous, that the seal-fisheries of the South Pacific are conducted. The skin, moreover, is va- luable, from its strength and thickness, and is ex- tensively used for carriage and horse harness. The flesh is oily and disgusting, but the tongues, when salted, are said to be very excellent. 1005.— The Ursine Seal {Arctocephalus ursinns) ; Phoca ursina, Linn. ; Ursus marinus, Steller; L'Ours marin of Buffon. The cha- racters of the genus Arctocephalus are as follows : — Head with a narrow retracted muzzle : the dentition thus : — Incisors, - ; canines, ^I^ ; molars, = 4 ' 1— I ' ' 5—5 36 (see Fig. 1006) ; small external ears. Fig. 1007 represents the skull of Arctocephalus. The ursine seal attains the length of nearly eight feet ; its fur is brown, washed with grey; it is long and erect, especially around the neck in old males, where the hair is two inches in length and stiff; there is beneath the hair a soft brownish-red wool close to the skin. This species inhabits the islands on the north-west of America, Kamtchatka, the Kurile Islands, &c., and is migratory in its habits. When these seals appear off Kamtchatka and the Kuriles early in the spring, they are in high condi- tion, and the females are pregnant. They remain on or about the shore for two months, during which the females bring forth. They are polygamous, and live in families, every male being surrounded by a croud of females (from fifty to eighty), whom he guards with the greatest jealousy. These families, each including the young, amounting to 100 or 120, live separate, though they crowd the shore, and that to such an extent on the islands off the north-west point of America, that it is said they oblige the tra- veller to quit it and scale the neighbouring rocks. Both male and female are very affectionate to their young, and fierce in their defence ; but the males are often tyrannically cruel to the females, which are very submissive. If one family encroaches on the station of another, a general fight is the consequence. They will not, in fact they dare not, leave their stations, for if they did they must encroach on that of some other family. Steller relates that he had been beset by these seals for six hours together, and was at last obliged to climb a precipice to get rid of the infuriated animals, at the imminent peril of his life. They have their war-notes and several other intonations. When amusing themselves on the shore, they low like a cow, chirp like a cricket after a victory, and, when they are wounded, cry like a whelp. They swim very swiftly, and are as great a terror to other seals as the sea-lion (Phoca jubata, Gmel.) is to them. The skin of the ursine seal is very thick, and from its full deep fur makes excellent winter clothing. tTU^Uaentti Conoeliz. tni.— ABJnul of Coon BuuUnni. »734.— Melo ;JAlum«l. «n5<— Shell of Helo. »733.— Neptune's Cymba. 224 2736.— Undulated Volute : expanded Foot. 27<0.— Bat Volute. 2741— Epucopal Milre. 8742.— Episcopal Mitre. 2737.— Shell of Undulated Volute. 2738.— Undulated Volute : Anterior Part. 27'I3.— Tanned Mitre S739.— Parinc Volute. No. 79. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 225 226 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Volutes. under the group Volulinu; ; fourteen genera and subgenera under (he group MilriniE; five genera { under the group OliviiiiB ; one genus in Ancillarinae, and five genem in Marginellina;. From such a nun>l)er of genera we may eiui.y form some idea of the ovcrwhehuing multitude ol specie* which the family VoliitiilsD contains ; the •tudy of such a family, without instituting sections, even on artiticial grounds, would be a work of im- mense difficullv.— a* It i*. the labour ij not trifling : nor do our obiervations apply only to the Volutidoe, they are applicable to every family of gastropodous mollusks. Nor is this labour decreased when we come to review the various systems which different writers have adopted, and the opposite views which they entertain. Hence we find genera located first in one section, then in another, or utterly dismem- bered by one writer, who scaiters the species abroad. forms many genera from them, or assigns them to genera already established; while another writer perhaps will, more or less, completely reunite them, and place them in a new situation. Look, for in- stance, at the Caini'idie, or Les l.'apuloides of Cuvier (' llcgne Animal," p. 86), which, in that great natu- ralist's opinion, comprehend five genera, of which four are dismembered from the Limpets (I'atellsB). Instead of five genera, however, under his Capu- loides, he gives the characlere of ten, of which we find five including species which have been regarded as belonging to the genus Patella. In a note he says. " M- dc IJlainville en met la phipart | dans ses raracephalophores hermaphrodites non symetriqiiesou calyptraciens; mais ils me paraissent tons dioKpies." Another difiiculty in studying this department of zoology arises from the circumstance that we have not the molKisk.* themselves before us for exami- nation; we cannot observe them as we can any of the higher animals, study their habits and manners, and investii;ate their organization: and even if we could, we should find the anatomy and habits of many mollusks, separated from each other by naturalists into groups far asunder, closely approximating in these respects. Mostly, however, we have nothing but their shells before us, ranged in cabinets and making a beautiful show. So varied are their loims, so closely does one form approach another by a series of transitions, that even the situation of a species is often not only a matter of doubt, but is totally different in dilferent systematic arrange- ments. Added to all this, the varietie.s of many species are so decided, that whether they be really identical, or whether they should not rather be regarded as distinct, remains a question. From these, then, and other causes, flie study of conchology is one of great labour; it moreover involves little more than an attention to mere cha- racters ; and hence, beautiful as are shells to look at, the descriptive details can seldom be enlivened by a history of the habits and peculiar instincts of their molluscous tenants. 2736, 2737, 2738.— The UsotxATED Volute (^Votuta vndulata). The Undulated Volute is so called from the waved lines with which the shell is ornamented; in figure, it is somewhat ovate and fu- siform, with a smooth surface, of a yellowish- white colour, clouded with fulvous or pui-ple-black spots, and marked with numerous brown longitudinal un- dulating flexuous lines. There are four plaits or wreaths on the pil'ar, and sometimes two additional smaller ones. This species is found on the coasts of New Holland. Port Western, Bass's Strait, the island Maria, &c. Fig. 2736 sliows the under surface or expanded foot of the mollusk protruded from its shell. Fig. 2737 is a lateral view of the shell, so as to display its general form, and show the orifice and the plaits on the pillar. Fig. 2738 is an upper view of the anterior part of the molluaVand its shell; the animal is prettily marked with zebra-like stripes. The respiratory siphon, the two tentacu!a, which are rather long, the eyes, each on a lateral prominence, and the broad expansion of the foot, are admirably displayed. 2739. — TuK Pacific Volute < Valuta pacifica). Though the shell of this volute has the general outline of those of its genus, we ob- serve that the angular part of the last whorl is marked by rather bold elevations, with depressions between them ; and that a tendency to the same character occurs in the larger whorls of the spire. The ground-colourof the shell is pale yellow or flesh colour, with brown spotted bands, and bay vein-like markings. The pillar has five plaits. This species is found in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The figure exhibits an ujiper view of the shell and mol- lusk in the act of creeping. The tentacula are short ; the respiratory siphon considerably deve- loped. 2740. — The Bat- Volute (VoliUa vesperlilio). In this species we find the projections of the shell more decided and acute ; the spire too is muricaled, the apex with small tubercles. ■The lip has a sinuous opening above for the recep- tion of the respiratory siphon. The pillar presents four plaits. The colour of the shell is white, yellowish, or red- dish, painted with angularly flexuous spots ; but it may be observed that the variations both of colour and markings, and also of the development of the spires and tubercles, are almost endless. Sometimes the spires are strong, sometimes scarcely perceptible. The Indian Seas, the coast of Amboyna, and the Moluccas, &c., afford this species. 2741, 2742.— The Episcopal Mitbk iMltra episcopatis). In the genus Mitra the aper- ture of the shell is oblong, with several bold wreaths on the columella. The spire is in general pointed and elongated. The niQllusk has the foot small, and the tentacles moderate, with the eyes on their lower part: tlie respiratory siphon does not project beyond the canal of the shell ; the proboscis is often of enormous length. Many species are very beautiful, and among them the present species holds a distinguished place. The shell is smooth, white, and spotted, with square or angular marks of bright red. The pillar has four plaits or wreaths, increasing in size from before backwards; the outer lip is denticulated at its lower part. The epidermis is very delicate. With respect to the mollusk, it has a narrow foot compressed and channelled at its root; its figure is a long triangle, the acute apex pointing backwards ; the head is very small and rounded, with two short tentacles, at the base of which the eyes are seated. The short respi- ratory siphon is marked with black. A vermifoim proboscis of extraordinary length, double that of the shell, constitutes a striking appendage to the head; it is terminated by an oval orifice at its dilated ex- tremity. This species of mitre is a native of the Indian seas, and the coasts of the South Sea Islands, Tongataboo, &c. Fig. 2741 exhibits the shell seen from below, with the mollusk visible ; Fig. 2742 is the shell, showing the mouth and wreaths of the pillar. 2743. — The Tanned Mitre {Mitra adiista). In this species the shell is fusi- form and turreted, and transversely sireaked ; the pillar has five wreaths. The general colour is whitish buff, with longitudinal rufous brown mark- ings. There are two or three varieties. It is found near Timor, Vanikoro, &c. 2744. — The Wrinkled Mitre {Mitra cornigata). The shell of this mitre is ovate- fusiform, longitudinally plicated, transversely ru- gous; the whorls are angulated above, the last whorls with a submuricated angle. General colour whitish, with brown bands. It inhabits the Indian Ocean, the coast of New Guinea, &c. From the genus Mitra we proceed to the genus Oliva, which is divided by M. Duclos into four groups, the Ancilloi'd, the Cylindroid, the Glandi- form, and the Volutellse. M. Rang, in his observations on the genus Oliva, in alluding to the presence of an operculum, perti- nently remarks that this form is one of the few which incontestibly prove that the presence or absence of an operculum is valueleiis as a character upon which to divide the Pectinibranchiafa into two primary sections, viz. Pomastomes and Apomastomes, or opercnlafed and unoperculated, as has been at- tempted ; for if, on account of the presence of an operculum, the Olives are removed to the first sec- tion, the result of such an arrangement would be to separate them from Ibrms to which they are inti- mately allied both in their internal organization and the general characters of the shell (but in which no operculum exists), and consequently from which it would be unphilosophical to remove them. We may here add that the system of forming arjangements upon the absence on the one hand, and presence on the other, of certain structural peculiarities, irre- spective of more important considerations, as in the instance in question, though it has had its supporters, is now utterly abandoned. It is the system called dichotomous, so severely criticized by Mr, MacLeay. The Mollusk of the Olive shell is characterized as being compressed, with a small head, terminated by a proboscis; the tentacles are placed close together, enlarged at their base, and slender at their points, and carry the eyes on small convexities about their middle part externally. The foot is very large, oblong, and slit transversely at its fore-part; the mantle sends forth a single lateral lobe, covering the shell in great part ; it has two tongue-like processes at the side of the branchial opening, forming in front a very elongated siphon. The brahchial pectination is single. There is a very small elongated horny operculum. In the richness of their colours, and in the bril- liancy of their shells, the Olives are among the most conspicuous; the species moreover are extremely numerous, M. Deshayes recording in his tables seventy-eight as now existing. Beds of mud or sand, varying from a few feet below the surface of the water to twelve or fourteen fathoms, are the favourite haunts of the Olives ; they are fond of flesh, but only suck the juices, and con- sequently continue long at their repast, adhering to their prey. Lieutenant Harford, who was lor some time at the Mauritius, and who brought home very fine Olive shells, informed Mr. Broderip that oft the shores of that island they are captured by means of baits, a sort of fishery for them being carried on. The method is as follows : — a line is made to run pa- rallel with the bottom of the sea, and to this line at proper intervals small nooses, each containing a portion of the arms of a cuttlefish, are appended, so that the bait just touches the bottom. To one end of the line a chain-shot is attached by way of mooring, and over it are a buoy and flag ; the other end of the line swings with the tide, and that end is also marked by a buoy and small flag. The sport is carried on in deep water over sand-banks, and the best times are morning and evening ; occa- sionally the line is cautiously drawn up to the sur- face, and the Olives which are found adhering to the bait are taken by the fishermen into their boat. 2745. — The Figured Olive (Oliva tertilina). In this beautiful species the shell is greyish white, subreticulated with flexuous dotted lines, and belted with two brown bands, in- scribed as it were with characters. Lamarck gives the ocean of the Antilles as the locality of this shell, but, according to the statement in the 'Voyage of the Astrolabe,' it is found around New Guinea. 2746.— The Ruddy Olive (Oliva sanguinolenta). The present species has a cylindrical shell very delicately reticulated, with rufous brown small lines, and girt with two brown zones : the pillar is orange red. Locality, the Indian Ocean, coast of Timor. Referring to Fig. 2746, a is the shell seen from below ; b, the animal out of the shell, shown as when creeping on its large foot. 2747.— The Black Olive {Oliva maurii). The colour of this shell is black, will) the aperture white ; the apex is retuse. It is found in the Indian Ocean. In the ' Voyage of the Astrolabe,' Amboyna is given as a locality. La- marck states that a yellowish variety is found along the coast of New Holland. Fossil Volutidae from the tertiary beds are rather numerous. M. Deshayes enumerates thirty-two species of Voluta, sixty-six of Mitra, thirteen of Oliva, seventeen of Marginella, nine of Ancillaria, two of Volvaria, and four of Columbella. To these must be added many other species; for example, Mr. Bro- derip has described and figured in the third volume of the ' Zoological Journal,' a voluta from St. Peter's Mountain, near Maastricht. Dr. Mantell notices a species from the blue clay of Biacklesham, and the arenaceous limestone or sandstone of Bognor; M. Lea enumerates seven species of V'oluta, from the tertiary of Alabama, five species of Mitra, eight of Marginella, and six of Oliva, We may here take a review of the various modes in which different zoologists have arranged the Vo- lutidae, of which, since Lamarck's time, the number of known species, from the researches of naturalists, has been greatly increased ; indeed some genera have had their numbers tripled, or even quadrupled, and fresh additions are continually being made. Lamarck thus divided his genus Voluta; — a. Shell ventricose, convex) bombee). Les Gondoliires (Cymbiclse). Tlie species of this section belong mostly to the subgenera Cymba and Melo of Broderip. b. Shell oval, spiny or tuberculous. Muricinse. Comprising Volutae imperialis, vespertilio, mitis, nivosa, &c. c. Shell oval, tuberculous. Musicales, the Music Shells. Consisting of Voluta; ebiaja, rausica, &c. d. Shell elongated, ventricose, nearly fusiform. Fusoideae. Consisting of Volutae magnifica, ancilla, pacifica, junonia, lapponica, &c. Cuvier observes that the Volutes ( Valuta, Linn.) vary in the form of the shell and that of the aper- ture, but are to be recognised by the notch without a canal which terminates it, and by the projecting and oblique plaits on the pillar. The following sub- divisions appear in Cuviers work : — The Olives (Oliva, Brug.). These are named from the oblong or elliptical Volutes.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 227 form of their shell, whose aperture is narrow, long:, notched at the end opposite to the spire, which last is short. The plaits of the pillar are numerous and resemblina: stria?. The whorls are hollowed into a furrow. The shells of this genus do not yield in beauty to those of the cowries. The animal of Oliva has a large foot, whose in- terior part (in front of the head) is separated by an inci-jion on each side ; the tentacles are slender and carry the eyes on the side, about the middle of their length. The proboscis, the siphon, &c., are long. There is no true operculum. MM. Quoy and Gaimard observed at the posterior part an ap- pendage which is introduced into the furrow of the whorls. Volvaria, Lam. These much resemble the olives in their oblong or cylindiical form ; but their aperture is narrow, and its anterior border ascends above the spire, which is excessively short. One or more plates at the lower part of ihe pillar. The polish and whiteness of these shells cause their employment as necklaces on some coasts. The Volutes properly so called (Voluta, Lam.). Ciivier characterises the genus Voluta, Lam., as having a shell with an ample aperture, and the colu- mella marked by large plaits, of which that which is farthest from the spire is largest. The spire, he observes, varies much in the extent of its projection. Some of this genus, continues Cuvier (Cymbium, Montf. ; Cymba, Brod.), have the last whorl ven- fricoJe. Their animal has a large, thick, fleshy foot, without an operculum, and on the head aveil,atthe sides of which are the tentacles. The proboscis is rather long, and its siphon has an appendage on each side of its base. The shells grow to a large size, and many are very beautiful. Others (Voluta, !\Tontf.) have the last whorl conical, narrowing towards the end opposite to the spire. Their animal has not so large a foot as the preceding : their shells are also often very remark- able for the beauty of their colovus or the patterns traced thereon. Marginella, Lam. With the form of the Volutes properly so called, these have the external lip of the aperture furnished with a bourrelet. Their notch is but little marked According to Adanson, their animal, also, has the foot very large, and wants the operculum ; it par- tially covers the shell by raising the lobes of the manlle. The tentacles carry the eyes on the ex- ternal side of the base. Columbella, Lam. The plaits of the pillar are numerous, and the bourrelet of the external lip is convex or swollen as it were on its middle. These seem to have no oper- culum. Mitra, Lam. These have the aperture oblong, with some large plaits on the pillar; the plails nearest to the spire are the largest. The spire is generally pointed and elongated : some of the species are beautifully spotted with red on a white ground. Their animal has a small foot ; the tentacles, of moderate length, carrying the eyes on the side about the lower third : there is also a siphon of moderate length, but there is often a proboscis longer than the shell. Cancellaria, Lam. The last whorl of these is ventricose, the aperture ample and round, and the internal lip forms a plate upon the pillar. Their spire is projecting, pointed, and their surface generally marked with cancella- tions. (' Regne Animal.') In Cuvier's syslemthe Volutes are placed betvreen Terebellum and Buccinum. Of the Gastropods now usually arranged under the family Volutidae, M. de Blainvifle places Oliva next to Terebellum. Ancillaria, Mitra, Voluta, and Marginella come in succession after Oliva. All these genera belong to M. de Blainville's third family, Angyostomata. The| genus Oliva is divided by this zoologist into the following sections : — A. Oval species, with the spire scarcely pro- jecting. Example, Oliva undata. B. Species a little more elongated, with the spire more projecting Example, Oliva lilterata. C. Species still more elongated (dlancees), with a very projecting spire. Example, Oliva subulata. Ancillaria is divided by him into the followine sections:— " A. Species with the spire sufficiently elevated and bucciniforra. Example, Ancillaria buccinoides. _ B. Species with the spire almost null. Example, Ancillaria cinnamomea. Mitra is thus subdivided :— A. Species elongated, turriculate, ribbed ; the aperture very narrow, long, subcaiialicu- VOL. 11. late, with a plait. (Genus Minaret, Monlf.) Example, Mifra tamiata. B. Turriculate species, with large spiral whorls, the aperture etfuse anteriorly. Example, Mitra episcopalis. C. Suboval species, with a shorter spire, ordi- narily tuberculous. Example, Mitra microzonias. D. Oval species, with a very short spire, and ordinarily trellised. Example, Mitra dactylus. Voluta consists of the following sections : — A. Elongated and subturriculate species. Example, Voluta magellanica. B. Oval species more or less tuberculous. (Ge- nus Turbinellus, Oken.) Example, Voluta imperialis. C. Oval species, coroneted or not. Examples, Voluta fulva and Voluta nivosa. D. Oval, convex, ventricose species. (The Gondolieres, Cymbium, .Montf.) Example, Voluta aethiopica. Marginella is subdivided as follows : — A. Species with the aperture less long than the shell, and with the spire apparent. (Mar- ginella, Lam.) Example, Marginella faba. B. Species with the aperture as long as the shell, with no spire, and sometimes with it sunk or umbilicated. I Example, Marginella lineala. C. Species which are still more involved ; the i aperture still narrower and longer ; folds on the anterior part of the coluraellar lip ; external lip delicate. Example, Mitra monilis. M. Rang thus defines the family of Volutes, v\hich he makes his eighth family, placing it be- I tween the Enroules of Lamarck and the Sigareti, : thus : — ] Animal furnished with triangular and flattened [ tentacles, carrying the eyes on the hinder part of them on the external side. [ Shell oblong, with a large aperture, and furnished with plaits on the pillar. [ Marine. Genera Voluta and Cymbium. ,The genus Voluta is thus defined : — Animal oval ; the head distinct, furnished with ' triangular and rather short tentacles, with sessile ' eyes at their base, placed a little backwanls ; month at the extremity oi a thick proboscis, furnished with i hooked teeth ; foot very large, and spreading on all , sides beyond the shell, folding longitudinally in | order to re-enter it ; branchiae composed of two pec- tinations. Shell oval, rather ventricose, with the spire rather elevated and mammillated; aperture large, longer than it is wide, notched anteriorly ; right lip arched ; columella excavated, furnished with oblique plaits, the anterior of which are the greatest. Following the example of Lamarck, M. Rang sub- divides the genus into three groups: — 1, the Mu- ricines — Voluta imperialis, &c. ; 2, the Musicales — Voluta ebraea, &c. ; 3, the Fusoides — Voluta magni- fica, &c. The genus Cymbium, Adans., M. Rang defines thus : — Animal oval, very convex, hardly capable of re- entering the shell, and spreading beyond it on all sides with its foot, which is very large : head fur- nished with a veil, whence issue two triangular and flattened tentacles with eyes situated at the external base of thoiC organs, a little towards their external parts ; an advanced proboscis with the mouth at its extremity. Shell oblong oval, very ventricose, rather delicate; spire generally short and mammillated ; aperture very large, longer than it^is wide, notched anteriorly ; right lip arched, trenchant ; left or columellar Up excavated, furnished a little anteriorly to its middle with oblique plaits. 1\L Rang remarks that this genus approaches closely to the preceding, but, at the same time, he stales that he could find no veil in the animal of the Volutes, and that of Cymbium is evidently provided with it. Upon this ground alone M. Rang separates the genera ; for, if the animals were the same, the species of Cymbium ought not to form more than a subgenus of Voluta. M. Rang further observes that Lamarck reckons fourteen species, a number which, he thinks, ought to be reduced rather than augmented, for the young individuals offer some- times in their shell characters which disappear with age. The genera Mifra, Ancillaria, Oliva, Volvaria, and Marginella are arranged by M. Rang under the family of Enroules, in company with Terebra, Cy- piiva, and Ovula. We may now pass on to notice the Auger Shells, les Taiicres of the French, constituting the genus Terebellum of Lamarck. Cuvier places this group between the Ovulae and the Volutes, and M. de Blainville between Conus and Oliva, while M. Rang regards it as a form between Mitra and Ancillaria. The shell is oblong with a narrow aperture, the columellar border being simple, without folds or wreaths, and slightly prolonged forwards. The animal is not known. The species of the genus Terebellum are, as far as is yet ascertained, very limited in number, one living species only, we believe, being described, while of Ibssil species M. Deshayes notices only tv/o, and these belong to the tertiary strata. Li- mited as this genus is, M. de Blainville divides it into two sections, viz. into Terebellum proper, which has the spire visible, and aperture shorter than the shell, and into Seraphs, in which the spire is nearly hidden by the rolling up of the whorls, while the aperture is nearly as long as the shell. 2748. — The Subul.'Ite Terebellum (Terebellum subultitum). The shell is dehcate and polished, of an elongated cylindrical figure, with the spire acute. Four varieties are described : the first is clouded wiih chestnut, four-banded, or with the colour in patches ; the second, as in our pictorial specimen, is ornamented with flexuous subspiral or transversely oblique chestnut lines; the third is thickly dotted with rich chestnut; the fourth variety is entirely white. 2749. — The Convoluted Terebellum (Terebellum convolutum). This species and another, the T. fusiforme, are found in a fossil state only; they occur in strata of the Eocene period of Lyell, at Grignon, &c. The Terebellum convolutum belongs to the sub- genus Seraphs, Family CYPR^EID^ (COWRIES). From the polish of their surface and the beauty of their markings, the Cowries are in considerable request in our island as chimney ornaments, and indeed, as a writer well observes, they " have been in demand among civilized and uncivilized nations time out of memory." There is, in fact, a circum- stance connected with the history of these shells which proves the general interest taken in them, and the value (formerly greater than at present) in which they were estimated; we allude to the cir- cumstance of their being used as coin, or, in other words, of their constituting a portion at least of the currency of several countries. In many parts of India, in the Burmese empire, in Siam, &c., as well as on the coast of Guinea, and in Dahomy, they pass as money, though of course their value is trifling compared with that of gold or silver, and from their multiplication this value is on the de- crease. We learn that in 1740 a rupee in Bengal was worth two thousand four hundred cow'ries ; in 17G0, two thousand five hundred and sixty cowries ; and at the present time, upwards of three thousand two hundicd. Accounts are still sometimes kept in the inferior departments of business in cowries, which are current as long as they remain unbroken. According to Kelly, four cowries make one gunda, twenty gundas one punn, four punns one anna, four annas one cahaun, and four cahauns one current rupee, but the last proportion is variable. The rupee is equal to 2s. 3d. of English money. At Scindy, on the Malabar coast, cowries are also coin current. The cowries used as current coin are obtained principally about the Philippine Islands, the Mal- dive Islands, and the coast of Congo ; at these different localities they constitute an article of export. After the high tides, the women are occu- pied for three days in filling baskets with the sand with which the cowry shells are mixed ; these are afterwaids separated from the sand, and heaped on the shore, when the mollusks soon die; they are then ready for the market. The species is the Cy- praca moiieta of Linnaeus. The general characters of the adult shells of the Cypraea may be thus summed up: — texture highly porcellaneous; form oval or oblong, more or less rounded or cylindrical, with a small and imbedded spire ; outer lip involute ; aperture longitudinal, nearly straight, toothed or plaited on each side, with a channel or groove at each end. Very dif- ferent, however, as we have previously remarked, is the young shell from the adult, and decided are the changes which it undergoes in its progress to ma- turity. Mr. Gray thus describes the change : " The shell alters its appearance considerably according to the age of the individual, and exhibitis three very distinct stages. In the young or first stages, which are figured in the ' Encycl. Method.,' t. 349, f. (t, b ; the ' Mus. Gotwald,' viii. t. 5.3, b, e; C5, a,/; GG, a, c, the shell is generally smooth, of a plain greyish colour, or with three transverse bands, and the upper part of the m/ie/- lip is smooth and convex, the lower part flat or concave; the outer lip is thin. In the second stage the shell begins to 2G2 fT4«.— Wrinkled Milre. ITli^Figand OUr*. 2746.— nuddy OUt». v: > 2147.— Bluk Olire. 2748.— Subulate Terebellum. a b S750.— Young Corn-y. 2751,-^ Young Cowry, 274(.— CooTolnted Terebellum. 2752.— Cowry. 228 2758.— Blotched Cowry. 2753.— Map Cowry, f y7&7.— Adanson'g Cowry. b b 2759.— Honey Cowry. 2754, — Mole Cowry. 2756, — Children's Cowry. a7«0.— Straitened Cowry. »755,— Vetch-Cowry. 229 230 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Cowries. assume more the character of the genus, as the outer hp be)(ins to be inflected or rather thickened, and approaclies nearer the perfect appearance ofthe species as the second coat of colour is deposited ; but it differs from the perfect shell in the want of thickness, in the spire being more distinct, and in the «vant ofthe dorsal line, which is usually diMinct in the third or perfect slate, when the last coat has been deposited (by the rellected mantle), and the aperture is more plaited on both sides. The colour- ing, or at least tlie disposition of colourings in the cowries, is a much more certain characteristic of species than either the general outline of form or size, the latter of which is exceedingly various. In this family 1 have often observed full-grown spe- cimens of C. Arabica from one to three inches long. This )>eculiarity is attempted to be explained by Lamarck and others, who assert that when the animal has formed a complete shell, as it has not the faculty of enlarging its size, it is obliged to quit its shell and form a new one, in the same manner as the Annulosa cast their skins, and by tluit means the same animal forms many shells ; but I believe there is not the slightest ground for this notion." Figs. 27o0, 2731, and 2702 display the Cypisea exan- thema in various stages. Fig. 2750 is the Young in the first stage : a, tne back : b, the front view of the same, showing the columella and the thin edge of the outer lip. Fig. 2751, the same at more ad- vanced periods: c exhibits the back; the npex is already sinking, anil the thickened lips are formed ; (/ shows the shell still more advanced; the mantle has begun to secrete the enamelled spotted layer on the side, hut the transverse stripes are still visible. At Fig. 2752, « shows the perfect shell, back view ; all traces ofthe transverse stripes are lost under the enamelling of the thickened spotted coat :_/" repre- sents the opposite view of the same, from which the alteration in the character of the aperture may be appreciated. The growth of the shell, however, in the cowry, so as to accord with the growth of the moUusk, is a subject of some difficulty, and has engaged the at- tention of many naturalists. Dr. Fleming, in his 'Philosophy of Zoology' (vol. ii. p. 403), after observing that the formation of porcellaneous shells must take place in a different manner from those which evidently increase in size by the application of fresh layers of shelly matter to the margin ofthe mouth, goes on to say: '' If we attend to the form of a young shell belonging to the genus Cypiaca of LinncBus, we may perceive that an addition of shelly matter to the margin ofthe aperture, in the manner in which it is applied to other shells, would not en- large the cavity, but completely close the aperture. The increase of the shell (accompanied by a corre- sponding increase of its inhabitant) must take place, therefore, eilher by absorption of the accumulated shelly matter ofthe mouth, and an elongation in the direction of the greatest curvature of the shell, or the old shell must be thrown off, and a new one pro- duced suited to the size ofthe animal. The former supposition has not been entertained ; the latter is now generally received by naturalists. The inner coat of such shells appears to be a transudation from the body of the animal, and the outer one to be laid on the surface by the loose reflected lobes of the cloak (mantle). In many other shells, portions of matter more compact than the other parts may be observed spread on the pillar, and applied to the margin of the mouth by a similar process. Mr. Piatt, in support of Rdaumur's opinion that shells are formed by juxtaposition, against the objections of Mr. Poupait (• Phil. Trans./ vol. liv. p. 43), er- roneously considers the different sizes of the Cypraese as depending on the thickness of the shell increasing according to age, without admitting a corresponding increase ol'the contained animal, or of the cavity for its reception. If we turn to Figs. 2750, 2751, 27.52, illustrative of the young and adult of Cypraea exan- thema, we shall find an increase of size in every direction, nor do we clearly see how any addition to the outer edge of the shell (at 6) will bring it to the volume of the whorl seen aiy. Again, if we turn to the Money cowry (Fig. 2759), it would seem as if the outer lip of the young, in order to assume the figure presented by the same part in the adult shell, must be first absorbed and iheii remodelled, for a mere addition to its margin would only tend to close the aperture ; and besides this, we have then to account for the increase ofthe shell in every direction, for it will be observed that the proportions of the young shell viewed on the back, and the figure of the columellar portion of the front of the young shell, are but little dissimilar from those ofthe adult shell, only upon a smaller scale. The convexity of the back in the adult is not only apparently larger, that is from increased external depositions adding to the thickness ofthe shell, but really so, corresponding to the room re- quired internally for the accommodation of the increased mollusk. Now we cannot account for the increase of the boss of this shell excepting on the supposition of a gradual internal absorption on the one liand, and a co-ordinate secretion and deposition of fresh matter on the other ; or, on the circumstance of the young animal quitting its shell when straitened for room, and investing itself afresh. Look again at Trivia Europxa(Fig. 27C5;a, adult ; b, young), in which, excepting in the form of the outer lip, the young and adult closely resemble each other in figure, though they differ in size. How, while keeping the proporlionsalieadyattained, islhoyoung shell to acquire the size of the adult ? Surely by no additions to the margin of the outer lip and its con- setiuent inflexion, for the outer lip has to extend outwardly, in addition to the thickening and in- flexion of its edge, and the orifice is nut at the same time to become contracted, but rather propor- tionally enlarged. Unless, indeed, we are prepared, with some naturalists, to consider a change of shell to lake place, we must have recourse to the ope- rations of gradual absorption and deposition ac- cording to the growth of the animal, and the necessity of enlargement in any given part of the shell more than in another part. These observations, however, must be understood only as bearing upon young shells which closely resemble those of the adult in figure, with the ex- ception of the involution of the outer lip, but yet are far inferior in size ; at a very early stage the whorls of the Cypraea evidently increase in size in the ordinary way, as in the olive-shells, volutes, &c., by additions of shelly matter to the outer lip, and at this period the shell of the Cypraea closely resembles that of the Olive, but this resemblance by degrees disappears, and that before the full growth of the shell IS accomplished. We learn that Mj-. Gray has recently observed that sometimes, though rarely, the young shells of Cypraea, especially Cypraea Arabica, have the inner edge of the outer lip thickened, and furnished with a compressed sharp-edged series of teeth. It is in such a case that we must look for some other explanation of the mode of growth than by mere additions to this lip. With regard to the mollusk of Cypraea, it may be described as unisexual, of an elongated figure, having the head distinct, with two conical or su- bulate tentacula of some length, at the external base of which are thetvvo eyes, sessile on small projections. The mouth is vertical at the bottom of a small cavity, and contains a lingual riband beset with tentacles, and prolonged into the interior of the body. The mantle is bilobcd, the lobes being very large, with extended aliform edges in the adult, capable of being reflected over the back of the shell so as to meet on the mesial line. The foot is oval, thin, and destitute of an operculum. The Cypraeidae are very widely spread, being found in the seas both of the old and of the new world ; it is, however, in the hotter latitudes that they are most numerous, and display the greatest deve- lopment in point of size and the richest colouring. A few species occur in our European seas. In their habits the Cypraeidtc are littoral, tenanting beds of sand, or creeping under large stones or rolled masses of coral. In the ' Zoological Journal ' will be found a monograph of the cowries, by Mr. Gray, which, together with the seventeenth number of Mr. Sow- erby's ' Genera of Shells,' may be consulted with advantage. The cowries are divided into several genera and subgenera, according to minor peculiarities in the form and characters of the shell; and these genera and subgenera in Mr. Gray's arrangement are again subdivided into minor sections. The genus Cypraea is subdivided into subgenera Cypraea, Aricia, and Naria. In the first subgenus, Cypraea, the front of the co- lumella is described as broad and deeply impressed ; the shell is mostly smooth. The section a of this subgenus is thus characterized : — shell smooth, colu- mellar pit transversely ridged, teeth ofthe inner lip generally long. (Gray.) As examples, Mr. Gray enumerates twenty-seven species, among which are Cypraea Aurora (the Morning Dawn, or orange cowry), the Cypraea princeps, the Cypraea tigris, and the following. — 2753. — The Map- Cowry {Cypraa mappa). n, the shell seen from above; J, seen from below. In this elegant species the shell is ovate, more or less ventiicose, varied with deep brown or yellow lines and spots. The dorsal line is laciniated ; the margin is thick spotted with black; teeth yellow. The map-cowry is extensively spread in the Indian seas, and is subject to considerable variation. Among these we may notice the rosy variety and the dark variety, from the Pearl Islands; the citron variety and the dwarf rich-mouthed variety, from the Mauritius. The young shell is of a fawn colour, with obsolete spots and dashes. In section /3 the shell is smooth, the columellar pit nearly smooth, the teeth of the inner lip short and indistinct. Of fifteen species enumerated by Mr. Gray, we select the following: — 2754. — The Mole-Cowry (Cypraa talpa). Sardonyx cowry of Gray. In this species the shell is oblong-ovate, subcy- lindrical ; its colour is yellowish, with three darker bands; the subangular base and teeth are browu or black ; the mouth pale. A variety of this species occurs which has received the title exuslus ; it is ^shorter in form and darker coloured, with the teeth smaller and closer. In section y the shell has the back warty or tu- berculous, rarely smooth ; and the base on each side of the aperture is ridged. Three species are assigned by Mr. Gray to this section, of which we may select the Vetch-Cowry as an example. 2755. — The Vetch-Cowry (Ci/praa cicercuh). a, the shell seen from above; b, seen from below. The shell is subglobose, with a dorsal groove and scattered tubercles; the base is partly grooved. The general colour is yellow, dotted with brown; four spots are on the base. A larger variety, as it is generally considered (C. globulus), is destitute of the dorsal furrow, and is more oblong and smooth. A fourth section, S, is characterized as having transverse ribs. To this section Mr. Gray refers two species, of which one, the Cypiaea rugosa, Broderip, is fossil ; the other we have selected by way of example. 2756. — Children's Cowry {Cypraea Childreni. Gray), a, the shell seen from above ; 6, from below. In both views the transverse striae are to be distinctly seen. A fifth section, €, is distinguished by the shell having longitudinal and transverse ribs. One species only is noticed, viz. Adansou's cowry. 2757. — Adanson's Cowey (Ct/prcea Adansoni, Gray). This rare species is somewhat pear-shaped, and of a white colour mottled with brown. Mr. Gray gives the Pacific Ocean, with a query, as its locality. The next subgenus is Aricia; it is characterized by the front ofthe columella being flat or nearly so, and the back of the shell smooth. The fiist subdivision, a, of this subgenus has the margin of the shell pitted on the upper edge. Mr. Gray enumerates fourteen species, of which the blotched cowry is one. 2758. — The Bi.otcheu Cowby (Aricia guttata). Cypraea guttata. This I are and beautiful shell is brown, spotted with a paler tint ; the base and margin are white, with brown ridges. Mr. Gray gives the Red Sea, with a query, as its locality. Subdivision 0. In this group the margin is entire, and the teeth of both lips are extended more or less over the base. The species enumerated are thirty- seven. 2759.— The Money Cowry {Aricia moneta'). Cypraea moneta. It is this species which is used in some parts of India and Africa as money, a circumstance to which we have already alluded. The shell is yellow, or white with a yellow ring ; the margin and base are tubercular ; the teeth of the inner lip moderate. Some varieties occur destitute of a yellow ring, and with the margin and base less tubercular. The young are whitish, with two dark bands, and in this state are the Cypraea icterinia of Larnarck. lleferring to the figure, a, a leprtsent the adult shell in two views ; b, b, the young, also ia twe aspects. Subdivision y is characterized by the margin being entire, the teeth of the inner lip very small, forming a slight ridge ; the front of the columellar lip slightly concave, produced and toothed inter- nally. Two species are enumerated. 2760. — The straitened Cowry {Aricia angustataX Cyproea angustata. This cowry, which is brought from the coasts of New Holland, is of a whitish brown colour, minutely dotted with brown ; the base is white, the margin closely dotted with black ; the ends blackish. The next subgenus is Naria, distinguished by the front of the columella being narrow, and dilated into a sharp-toothed lidge. The shell is smooth. A single sjiecies only is referred by Mr. Gray to this genus. 2761. — The Freckled Cowry {Naria irrorata). Cypraea inorata. This small species is brought to Europe from the South Seas : the shell is ovate, and of a purplish Cowries.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 231 colour, freckled with yellow ; the base is white and flat ; the teeth large. Leaving the genus Cypraea and its subgenera, the following genera are described by Mr. Gray, viz. : Luponia, Cypraeovula, Trivia, Erato, and Ovulum. In the genus Luponia the shell resembles that of a Cvproea, but the anterior part of the columellar lip IS crossed by several irregular ridges without any distinct marginal one, and is internally narrow and flat. The shell is pear-shaped, smooth or cross- ribbed. Mr. Gray enumerates five species. 2762. — The Alcoa Lupon (^Luponia Algoeims, Gray). This species, which is found about the Cape of Good Hope, in Algoa Bay, &c., has the shell of a pale colour, dotted with brown; the margin is dotted with black ; the teeth of the inner lip are very small. A variety occurs with the teeth more or less obliterated. The genus Cyprseovula is allied to Cypraea, but the anterior end of the columella is covered with regular cross-ribs, like the re.st of the base, internally produced into an acute toothed ridge. The shell is pear-shaped and cross-ribbed. 2763. — Thb Cape Cvpileovula (Ci/praovula Capensis). Mr. Gray gives this as the' only species of the present genus : it is extremely rare. The general colour is pale brown ; the ribs are very thin. Its native locality is the Cape of Good Hope. The genus Trivia closely resembles Cyprieovula, but the front of the columella internally is concave and ribbed ; the shell is subglobular and cross- ribbed. Subdivision a has the mouth wide, the outer lip slightly inflexed ; the shell equally ribbed. Mr. Gray enumerates five species. 2764. — TuE Flesu-coloi/Red Pig-Cowey (Trivia carnea). The little shells of the genus Trivia, which occur along the shores of Europe, are, from some fancied resemblance, termed Pigs on our coast; Porcelli in Italy. Mr. (iray, indeed, observes that the common name for Cowries, Porcelain (or Les Porcelaines), is t; ken from an imaginary simi- larity between these shells and pigs, and refers to Fabius Colonna. The present species is oblong, thin, pellucid, and of a pure rose colour, with very thin distant continued ribs. The lips are whitish. A variety presents an indistinct dorsal groove. Subdivision /3, with the mouth narrowish, the outer lip wide, and the ribs of the back subequal and linear. Mr. Gray enumerates eighteen species. 2765. — The Ecropean Pig-Cowrt (Trivia Eiiropcea, Gray). Cyprsea Europa;a, Lam. The shell of this species is ovate-subglobose, ash or flesh coloured, with three black dots and a whitish dorsal streak. The ribs are close, rather thick, and whitish. The base is white ; the outer lip wide. A variety with the back unspotted, and with an indistinct dorsal groove, is referred by Mr. Gray to the Cyprsea arctica, Montf. The young shells are white and smooth. Referring to Fig. 2765, a a represent the adult shell in two positions ; b b the young shell. Subdivision 7, with the mouth narrowish, the outer lip arched, and with the ribs enlarged or tubercular near the dorsal groove. Seven species are enumerated. 2766, 2767.— The Louse Pig-Cowri (Trivia prdiculm. Gray). Cypriea pediculus, Linn. This species, which is very widely spread, is of an ovate form, of a pale reddish colour, with six square black dorsal spots. The ribs are rather thick, subrugose, and crowded ; dorsal line narrow, base reddish. Mr, Gray gives the West Indies as its locality. In the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' April 2S, 1834, will be found the following passage, which may be found not altogether uninteresting : — "Some notes by .1. B. Harvey, Esq., Corr. Memb. Zool. Soc , were read ; they accompanied a collection of shells and Crustacea made by the writer on the coa.st of Devonshire near Teignmouth, The several specimens were exhibited. " Among them were numerous individuals of Cy- praea pediculus, Cypraea bullata, and Cypraea arctica, " Of the former there are two varieties, one spotted and the other without spots. The spotted variety, Mr. Harvey states, is generally smaller than the plain one, and is less produced on the side near the apex. Cypra;a bullata is found in the same locali- ties as Cypraea pediculus, but it may be doubted whether it is the young of that species: it is so comparatively rare, that Mr. Harvey has dredged up only six specimens of it, while he collected more than a hundred of Cypriea pediculus. He possesses, moreover, young individuals of Cypraea pediculus, of smaller size than specimens of Cypraea bul- lata. In the latter the whorls are more produced at the apex, and the shell is so delicate as to be broken even by a slight fall. " On Cypraea arctica Mr. Harvey remarks, that, though its size and appearance are in lavour of its being a young shell, he hesitates in referring it to the immature condition of the unspotted C. pedi- culus. His principal ground for doubt is the ex- treme rarity of Cypraea arctica. He inquires, how- ever, whether the animal may not perhaps live deeply imbedded in the sand for a certain period before it comes to the surface, and thus generally elude the search of the conchologist until its shell becomes matured." Mr. Gray, as we have stated, refers the Cypraea arctica to the Trivia Europaea as a variety. Fig. 2767 represents the Trivia pediculus with the living animal ; its reflected mantle is seen covering the shell as it, crawls on its expanded foot, a is a view of the upper surface ; b, a lateral view. Subdivision 5, with the mouth narrow ; the ribs tubercular; the dorsal line distinct; the front of the columella smooth. Two species are enume- rated. 2768. — The Pimpled PiG-CowRT (Trivia piistxdata). Cyprasa pustulata. Lam. This species is of a purplish brown ; the ribs are studded with reddish brown black-edged tubercles. It is a native cJ" the Pacific Ocean. The next genus, Eiato, is thus characterized : — spire conical, apexblunt ; shell when young smooth ; the adult with both lips finely crenulated; the colu- mella concave, slightly plaited in a radiated man- ner, or smooth with two or three folds in front ; the anterior canal straight, the hinder indistinct. Seven species are enumerated. 2769. — The Roughish Teae-shell (Erato scabriuscula). Marginella Cyprseola, Sow- erby. The shell of this species is ovate, turbinate, livid purplish and minutely tubercular. The spire is conical ; the dorsal line impressed : the mouth wide and whitish, the inner lip largely plaited its whole length ; the teeth large. The young is smooth, with the lip thin and toothless. Its native locality is the South Pacific. We now come to the genus Ovulum (Ovula, Lamarck), containing those remarkable shells com- monly called Poached-eggs by collectors, Cuvier, who regards the Ovules or Ovula as the type of a form distinct from Cypraea, but approxi- mating to it, observes that they have the shell oval, and the aperture narrow and long, as the cowries, but with plaits on the side of the columella. The spire is concealed, and the two ends of the aperture are pretty equally notched, or prolonged into a canal. Linnaeus confounded these shells with the Bullae, from which Bruguieres separated them on good grounds. The mollusk has a large foot and an extensive mantle, which is partially reflected over the shell, a moderate blunt muzzle, and two long tentacles, which carry the eyes on their side at about the third of their length from the base. Montfort calls those shells Ovules, in a restricted sense, which have the outer edge transversely plaited ; and he gives the generic title of Volva (les Navetfes) to those in which the two ends of the aperture are prolonged into a canal, and also in which the outer edge or external lip is not plaited. Mr. Gray gives the generic characters of Ovulum as follows, subdividing the genus into several minor groups : — The shell, when young, is spirally striated ; when adult, covered with a smooth enamelled coat ; the inner lip is toothless; the outer toothed or crenafed ; the anterior and posterior canals are more or less elon- gated. The subdivision a has the outer lip broad, in- flated, rounded and crenulated ; the extremities short : the front of the columella rounded. Of this subdivision Mr. Gray enumerates two spe- cies, of which one is the Common Poached-Egg. 2770. — The Common Poached-Ego (Ovulum ovtim). Ovula oviformis, Lamarck ; Bulla ovum, Linn. The Common Poached-Egg has the back remark- ably elevated and rounded ; it is smooth and white externally : the inside is orange brown. Subdivision /3. The species in this subdivision have the outer lip inflected, broad, and toothed ; the ends are short and curved ; the posterior end has a tooth on the inner side ; the front of the columella is ex- panded beneath. One species only is enumerated. 2771. — The Two-Warted Poached-Egg (Ovulum verrucosum) Bulla verrucosa, Linn. This species of ovulum has an ovate shell with the back deflected angularly. The extremity is roseate. The young shells are closely striated, and ! the ends are tinged with brown. It is found in the Indian Seas. Subdivision 7. The characters in this section clo.sely approximate to those of the preceding. The outer lip is inflected, rounded, narrow, and toothed. Four species are noticed by Mr. Gray. 2772. — The Picabl Poached-Egg (Ovulum margarita). The shell of the Pear! ovu- lum is of a subglobose form, and pointed anteriorly ; the base is convex; the front of the columella con- cave ; the outer lip rounded. It is a native of the sea around the Friendly Islands. Subdivision S. Characterized by the outer lip being shghtly inflected, narrow, and keeled exter- nally, with the edge shelving inwards. Mr. Gray enumerates seven species. 2773.— The Pear-shaped Poached-Egg (Ovulum pyriforme). The shell is pear-shaped, at- tenuated anteriorly ; the front of the columella con- cave ; the outer lip shelves inwards. It is found on the coasts of New Holland. Subdivision e. In this subdivision the outer lip of the shell is thickened, inflected and toothless ; the front of the columella is flattened ; a fold or ridge runs across the back, which becomes oblite- rated with age. The extremities are short. Nine species are enumerated, 2774. — The Gibbous Poached-Ego (Ovulum gihbosum). The gibbous ovulum is ob- long and blunt, with an angular ridge across the back. The general colour is white, with the lips yellow. It is subject to variation in its relative length and breadth. It is obtained in difterent parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Subdivision C- In this section the outer lip is thickened, inflected, and toothless ; the extremities are elongated ; the hinder conical and straight. Four species are enumerated. 2775.— Goodhall's False Spi.vdle (Ovulum longirostratum). The shell in this species is fusiform, and thin; the beak very long and curved ; the mouth linear, rather expanded anteri- orly. General colour white. It is found in the Adriatic. Subdivision ri. In this section the outer lip is thickened, slightly inflected, and toothless ; the front of the columella is rounded; the extremities very long. It constitutes the genus Volva of Mont- fort. See Cuvier's ' Rogne Animal.' One species only is enumerated. 2776. — The CoMMOpf Weavep."s-Shuttle (Ovulum volva). Bulla volva, Linn. This shell is oval, and striated, with the beaks long and somewhat flexuous. It is flesh-coloured, with the outer lip pink. It is brought in collections from China. With respect to the fossil Cypraeidae, it may be observed that fossil shells of tins family do not ap- pear to have been found below the Supracretaceous group. Mr. G. B. Sowerby, speaking of the genus Cypraea (' Genera ') says " of these," the fossils, " we have several species in Britain, in the London clay and crag ; many others are found on the Continent, as in the calcaire ttrossier in the environs of Paris ; at Laugnan, near Bordeaux, and in Normandy ; also in Italy and Piedmont; we have seen specimens of a very fine fossil species, nearly resembling C. mus, from the Netherlands : they seem to be confined to the newer formations." Lamarck enumerates eigh- teen fossil species of Cypraea and two of Ovulum. Deshayes, in his Tables, makes the number of living Ovula eighteen, and the number of fossil (tertiary) species six. Three species, O. spelta, O. birostre, and a new species, he makes both fossil (teitiary) and living in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean respectively. The number of living species of Cypraea he makes one hundred and thirty-eight, and the number of fossil (tertiary) nineteen. He considers Cypracae lurida (Medii.), rufa (ibid.), annulus (African Ocean), coccinella (European Ocean), a new species (Sicily), and another new species, Sphaericulata ? Lam., with an unknown habitat, as both living and fossil (tertiary). Mr. Gray notes the following as fossil : — Cypraea, Cypraea Physis, Brocchi (C. Pyrula, Lam.), Pl.ii- san'in or Placentin ; C. leporina. Lam. ; C. gibbosa, Gray ; C. tumidula, KiJnig, Bordeaux : and he ob- serves, that C. annularia, Brogn., appears to be an allied species ; C. fragilis. Gray ; C. Deshayesii, Gray; Ovula tuberculosa, Duclos ; C. inflata, Lam., Grignon, allied to Ovulum : C. .subrostrata, diray, Nehove ; C. fabagina, Lam. ; C. diluviana. Gray ; C. rugosa, Brod., Turin. Luponi-a. L. elegans, Gray; Cyp. elegans, Defr. ; L. dac- tylosa. Gray ; Cyp. dactylosa. Lam. ; Cyp. Gervilii, Suw, ; Cyp. Georgii, Defr, 9 0 tT«1.— AKklad Cowiy. S76e<— Loom Flg-Cowrr. t tIM.— Alfoa Lapon. >7fi3. — Cape CypneoTuU. 2767.— Louse IMg-Co»Ty. t7<8.— Pimpled Kg-Co»Ty ST«9.— Roughish Tern Shell. a a ^i, 9 b b »T6S.— European I'ig-Cowry. • tT64.— Fleth-coloured Pig-Cowry. 2T70^— Common Poacbed-Egg. 232 »rs.— Gooainll'i F»l«9 SpiniJe. 27t«.— Cranmon WavM's Shuttle. S7T2.— reatl F(ached-T%° 8777.— SnlMtril Planaxis, fT73 — 4^>r-dn}ied ttuhei E^ 5T7I.— GibbottiroailifO F.^. 277«u-S|>o»»«a JUibulii. 2771.— Two-warteil Poaclicil Eg; 8779— Miran and Bindkd TerebrK. No. 80. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIJI.XTKD NATURK.] 233 234 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [IIarpsuells. Trivia. T. Bareinensis, Gray; t'yp. Barcinen»i», Konie, Barcelona; T. sphwriculata, Cyp. Lam.? Italy ; T. acuticostala, Gray, Italy; T. pediciilo'i'cles. Gray, lUly ; T. porcellus, Gmy, Crag ? T. Broiinii. Gray, Italy; T. solida. Gray ; T. avtilana, Sow., M. C, Suffolk Crag, which, Mr. Gray observes, appears to be an allied species ; T. Duclosiana, Gray. Erato. E. ventrjcosa. Gray, Italy. Oviilum. O. Lethesii (I.eathesii?), Sow., M. C. Mr. Gray makes the whole number of species of Cypraid», including the subgenera above indicated, and the fossil as well as the living species, one hundred and seventy-four. If Cyp. nivosa, Brod., is to be considered as a well-established species dis- tinct from Cyp. Dama, as Mr. G. B. Sowerby ('Zool. Journ.,' vol. iv. p. 220) and others contend, the number will be one hundred and seventy-five, provided C. Broderipii, Gray, be not also a variety of C. Dama, as Mr. Gray says it perhaps may be. To these are to be added eight living species re- corded by Mr. Gaskoin, and one by M^r. Reeve, in the 'Zoological Proceedings' for 183.'», as hitherto undescribcd ; and C. umbilicata, Sow., provided it be not a variety of G. pantherina, as Mr. Gray states it to be, but which Mr. Sowerby does not allow, considering it an established species more nearly allied to C. pantherina than C. Tigris. Family BUCCINID.*: (WHELKS, HARPSHELLS, &c.). This family, tlie Entomostomata of M. de Blainville, and nearly the same with the genus Buccinum of Linnaeus, comprehends, says Cuvier, all the shells which have no fold at the columella, but a notch, or a short inflected canal, towards the left. We may add from M. de Blainville that the shell is variable in form, with the opening sometimes large, sometimes small, without any apparent canal, or with a short canal, curved upwards, and always more or less deeply notched anteriorly. The oper- culum is homy, nail-shaped, or oval, with subcon- centric striae, and the summit a little marked and marginal. With respect to the mollusk, it is of a spiral form, with the foot shorter than the shell, and rounded in front. The mantle in front of the branchial cavity, with a long respiratory tube or siphon, always un- covered, which the animal uses as an organ of pre- hension. The head is furnished with two tentacles, which carry the eyes on a basal enlargement. The mouth is armed with a proboscis, without any labial tooth, but furnished with a tongue. The bi-anchiie two, unequal, and pectinated. The genera of this family are numerous: most are marine; some, however, live at the mouths of rivers, and a few are positively tluviatile. The first genus which we may notice is Planaxis. The shell isstout, conical, and transvereely furrowed ; the aperture is oblong; the columella flat, trun- cated anteriorly, and separated from the right border or outer lip by a sinus. The inside of the outer lip is furrowed, with a thickened margin. The opercu- i lum is a delicate horny lamina, subspiral and oval. The animal does not appear to have been described, though M. Rang observed it in abundance at the Isle of France, where the rocks along the shore are sometimes covered with them; unfortunately he lost his notes, and is consequently unable to give any particular details, but according to his recol- lection the mollusk differed little from that of Pha- sianella. He states that he possesses six well dis- tinguished species. 2777. — The Sulc.^tbd Planaxis (Planaxis sulcata). The Sulcated Planaxis, like the other species of this genus, is littoral in its habits, frequenting rocky snores, and often hiding itself under stones. It is common in the Isle of France. ■Several fossil species of Planaxis occur in beds of the tertiary series. Another genus is that termed by M. de Blainville Subula, and which he states that he found himself compelled to establish, upon examining the animal brought home by MM. Quoy and Gaimard, the shell of which had hitherto been placed in the genus Terebra. In the genus Subula M. de Blainville arranges all those species which have the shell greatly elevated, with a very pointed spire, the whorls being at the same time ribanded. It will therefore include the greater number of the species desciibcd by Lamarck as Terebrse, and which nearly all belongto the East Indies and Australasia. It may be observed, that Mr. Gray, who on July 8th, 1834, described an extensive collection of shells of the genus Terebra (see ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1834, p. 51) et seq.), does not notice M. de Blainville's genus Subula, and that M. Rang considers it desirable that new observations be made on the animals in order that the line of separation between the Subuloe and Terebrae may be established. The characters of Subula, as given by M. de Blainville, are essentially as follows: — The shell is destitute of an epidermis, turriculated, and with a pointed spire ; the whorls are smooth, ribanded, and bifid. The aperture is small, oval, and deeply notched anteriorly ; the outer lip is thin and sharp-edged ; the inner or columellar lip has an oblique roll or fold at its extremity. The oper- culum is horny and lamellar ; its figure oval. The mollusk is spiral, very much elevated, with a short round foot ; the head is small, with triangu- lar tentacula bearing the eyes at their summit. The proboscis is very long, without hooks, and the mouth is unarmed. 2778.— The Spotted Subula (Subula maculata). Buccinum maculatum, Linn. This elegant shell is found at the Moluccas and other islands. Lamarck observes that a specimen in his possession was brought from Hawaii or I Owhyhee. The uppermost of the two figures ex- hibits the shell only ; the lower figure, the last whorl of the shell with the animal in the act of creeping along. The operculum is distinguished by the letter a. We now turn to the genus Terebra, which we shall find very differently characterized by M. de Blainville and Mr. Gray. The former gives the following details : " Animal spiral and rather elevated; foot oval, with a trans- verse anterior furrow, and two lateral ear-like ap- pendages : head bordered by a small fringe ; tenta- cula cylindrical, terminated in a point and distant from each other; eyes but little apparent at the origin and outside of the tentacula ; mouth without a proboscis ; tube of the respiratory cavity very long. Shell without an epidermis, inclining to oval ; spire sharp, not much elevated, or subturriculated ; aperture large, oval, and strongly notched ante- riorly ; columeliarlipwith an oblique fold(bourrelet). No operculum.' In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc' already referred to (1834, p. 59) Mr. Gray thus characterizes Terebra: " The animal has a small foot and a very long pro- boscis ; at the base of which are seated two very small tentacula. The operculum is ovate, thin, horny, rounded behind, and rather tapering in front. The shell is covered by a veiy thin pellucid horn- coloured periostraca (epidermic layer) ; it is usually white, variously streaked wilh brown, the streaks being often interrupted or broken into spots by the two spiral bands of the shell : one of these bands is placed near the spiral groove, and the other on the middle of the whorl. The apex of the cavity is fre- quently filled up by a calcareous deposition." The characters here given by Mr. Gray are evi- dently descriptive of M. de Blainville's Subula ; which the former, it would appear, does not admit as distinct : but, on the other hand, the Terebra as characterized by M. de Blainville must be distinct from the Terebra of Mr. Gray ; and if this name be appropriated to the forms associated under it by the latter naturalist, then a fresh name will be required for the Terebra of De Blainville. In the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' already quoted Mr. Gray describes forty-five species, of which twenty- one were new ; all of them either in the British Museum or in his own private collection. 2779. — The Miran, and the Banded Terebra {Terebra f [ Vis Miran] et Terebra vittatata). The figure on the left hand is the Miran from Adanson ; that on the right is the Banded Terebra. The Terebrae, like the Subula?, are natives of the warmer latitudes, occurring in depths ranging from the surface to seventeen fathoms. Occasionally they creep on reefs out of the water, but always within the reach of the spiay. The Terebra) and Subulae occur in a fossil state, in the beds of various epochs. Some are found in strata below the chalk, as the Portland stone in Dorset, South Wiltshire, North Wiltshire, Oxford, and Bucks. They also occur in the Claiborne beds, in the oolitic series, in the London clay, and in beds of the tertiary system. Closely allied to the genus Buccinum we find the genus Eburna, characterized by the shell being oval, elongated, and smooth, with the spire pointed, and the whorls not divided from each other by a deep suture, and therefore but moderately marked ; the aperture is oval, elongated, and deeply notched anteriorly ; the right lip is entire, the columellar lip umbilicated, callous posteriorly, and slightly cnannelled at its externa! part. 2780. — The Smooth Eburha (Ehuma glahrata). Buccinum glabratura. List. These Eburnae, of which only a limited number of species are known, inhabit the seas of warm cli- mates : Lamarck assigns three to the East Indies, and one to South America. Fossil species occur in tertiary formations ; but they appear to be rare. We may now turn to the genus Buccinum, of which the Common Whelk or Waved Whelk is a familiar example. The shell is oval, elongated, pointed, with the spire moderately elevated ; the aperture is oblong or oval, deeply notched anteriorly; the right lip is entire, sometimes thick ; the columella simple or callous ; the operculum horny. The species are extremely numerous and widely distributed. They are littoral in their habits, and range at various depths from the surface to seventeen fathoms. Two species, the Buccinum glaciale and B. Sabinii, were met with by Captain Parry within the regions of the arctic circle. 2781. — The Waved or Common Whelk (Buccinum undatum). This species abounds every- where on our coast, where it creeps about in search of prey, boring holes with its proboscis though the shells of other mollusks for the purpose of sucking the juices of the unfortunate prey. In order to accomplish this it uses a sort of tongue or retrac- tile filament, armed with minute teeth, with which its proboscis is furnished, and which acts as a soit of drill, or rasp-like perforator. The empty shells of the whelk, scattered about at random on every beach, are appropriated by the Hermit Crab (Pagurus), who ensconces himself within, and guards the entrance. The shell of the Purpura Lapillus (Buccinum Lapillus) is also similarly occupied by this crab, which thus protects its soft body from the rough waves and shingles or sharp stones of the sea-shore, over which he wanders prowling in quest of his prey. The common whelk is boiled and eaten, and num- bers may be seen exposed for sale, as food, in the street-stalls of the metropolis. Like the periwinkle, they are coarse and indigestible. It was from a species of whelk that the Tyrian dye of ancient times was procured, but to this we shall have occasion to allude in our notice of the genus Purpura, now separated from Buccinum. The number of fossil Buccina is very consider- able ; M. Deshayes records ninety-five species, including those of the genus Nassa, which he does not separate from Buccinum. Dr. Felton, in his ' Stratigraphical and Local Distribution,' notices two species below the chalk in the Portland stone; and Mr. Lea observes twenty-seven species occur in England, several as low as the mountain lime- stone, but mostly in the London clay and the ci-ag formations, the genus being more abundant in tlie upper than in the lower formations. The Pliocene of the Subapennines, he adds, presents us with twenty-seven species; the Miocene strata about Bordeaux twenty-one ; the Eocene around Paris nine. Four species have also been found in North America, in the older Pliocene. With regard to the genus or subgenus Nassa, it is distinguished by Cuvier from having the side of the columella covered by a large plate more or less broad and thick : the notch, besides, is very deep, but there is no canal. The animal is a true whelk in figure, and there are many transition links between the shells of this subgenus and Buc- cinum. In their habits the Nassae resemble the Buccina; they mostly live in the warmer seas, a few species only being European. Another genus is termed Harpa, which is easily to be recognised by the bold transverse salient ribs on the whorls ; the shell is delicate, enamelled, and convex, the last whorl very ample ; the right lip extensive and deeply notched anteriorly. According to the statements ot M. Reynaud and other observers who have examined the living animal, there is no operculum. The mollusk has a large head destitute of a pro- boscis, the mouth opening below; the tentacula are conical, and cany the eyes on a slight external basal enlargement. The respiratory siphon is elongated. The colour of the mollusk is a rich Vermillion red. About eight species are recorded- All are natives of the warmer seas, and especially around the Mauritius and the adjacent islands, where the finer specimens are procured, and where, indeed, a sort of fishery for these shells is carried on; so prized are they by collectors for the beauty of their colouring and the elegance of their form. The men engaged in fishing for these shells take advantage of the ebb tide, and at low water visit the reefs and sand-banks during the night or at day- break, the animals being then, as it is supposed, wandering about in quest of food: they use a rake to which a net is attached, and the latter receives the shells which the rake catches in its progress. Occasionally when the men are fishing with baited lines for olives, they draw up harps at work upon the bait. 2782.— The Ventricose Harp (Ha)-pa ventricosa). This fine species is found on the coast of the Mauritius ; it is very valuable, but Harfshells.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 235 Jess rare and costly than (he Harpa imperialis ; all the species, however, are depressed in value now, to what they were some few years since. i It is a remarkable circumstance, of the truth of j which we are assured by MM. Qiioy and Gaimard, and also by M. Heynaud, that when suddenly alarmed or threatened with instant danger, the mol- lusk forcibly draws itself up into the recesses of its shell, disembarrassing itself of the posterior part of the foot, which, according to M. Reynaud, being loo voluminous to be retracted within the shell, suffers amputation from the edge, against which it is forced by the contractile action of the muscular system. It would be very interesting to know whether, as is most probable, the part thus cut off becomes renewed ; and whether the moUusk has been ob- served to act thus not only when caught and roughly handled by man, but when alarmed under the water by other enemies. We l)clieve that only about two species of fossil Harpa have been discovered, both in some of the tertiary formations near Paris. We may now turn to the genus Dolium. In this genus the shell is light and delicate, of a somewhat globular figure, with a large aperture, and a twisted columellar lip. The ]a.st whorl forms nearly the whole of the shell, the spire of which is small. The right lip is undulated, and the whorls are furrowed externally in the direction of their tournure, or trans- ■sersely to the shell. The operculum is horny. 2783. — The Helmet Dolhim (Doli'um galea). The Dolium galea is a native of the Mediterranean, but most of the species are found in the warmer seas, and especially those of India. They mostly tenant reefs and beds of rock ; some are of large dimensions. Montfort divides this genus into the Tuns (Dolium) and the Partridge Tuns(Perdix). The former have the base of the columella twisted, in the latter it is trenchant. According to Cuvier the mollusk has a very large foot expanded anteriorly, a proboscis longer than the shell, and slender tentacles with eyes at the base. He adds, the foot is not provided with an oper- culum. But this appears to be an error. The fossil species are limited in number and very rare. Another genus in the present family is Cassi- daria, distinguished by an ovoid ventricose shell, with the spire but little elevated. The aperture is long and rather narrow, and produced anteriorly in the form of a recurved canal ; the outer lip is thick- ened with a fold ; and the columellar lip is covered by a large callosity ; the operculum is horny. 2784.-^The Spinous Cassidabia (Cassidaiia echinophora). The species of this genus are comparatively limited in numbers. They are widely distributed, but chiefly tenant the warmer seas. The spinous Cassidaria is found in the Mediter- ranean. A few fossil species occur in tertiary deposits. From the genus Cassidaria Mr. G. B. Sowerby has separated certain species, upon which he establishes the genus Oniscia. The shell is oblong and sub- cylindrical, with the apex rather obtuse, and the spire short ; the aperture is elongated, and extended into a short canal ; the outer lip is thickened and denticulated within ; the columellar lip is expanded and covered with granules ; externally the shell is tiiberculated or ribbed. Of the mollusk nothing is ascertained. 2785. — The Cahcellateb Oniscia. {Onisa'a cancellata). We figure this species as an example of the present genus, of which three species are described by Mr. Sowerby from specimens now in the British Museum, but formerly constituting part of Mr. Broderip's noble collection. A fossil species from the tertiary deposits in Italy is recorded, and figured by Mr. Sowerby. Of the habits of the Onisciae little is known, excepting that they are littoral, frequenting banks of sand. According to its descrioer the genus Oniscia is intermediate between Cassidaria and Cassis. The genus Cassis contains numerous species distinguished by the convexity of the shell, of which the spire is nearly flat, the aperture oblique, narrow, and elongated, with the anterior canal short and recurved ; the right or external lip is thick with a bold reflexion, and is toothed internally; the colu- mellar lip is e.xtensively callous, with long and deep transverse rugse ; the operculum is horny and very small. M. de Blainville divides this genus into two f eclions, thefirst containingthose species which have the aperture long and the outer lip nearly straight ; ihc second containingthose which have the aperture suboval, and the external lip excavated. 278C. — The Tlherose Cassis (Cassia tubnrosa). This species is an example of M. Ue Blainviile's first section : it is a native of the Vol. II. ji West Indian Seas. The lower figure represents the \', denuded mollusk of Cassis sulcata. I; M. Deshayes enumerates thirty living species be- longing to the genus Cassis, all, with the exception of two or three which are found in the Mediterra- nean, belonging to the hotter latitudes. They tenant beds of sand, ranging from five to ten fathoms in depth. About fifteen fossil species are known, all belonging to tertiary deposits. Closely allied to the two preceding forms is the genus Kicinula, which is characterized by M. de Blainville as follows : — The shell is oval, or sub- globular, thick, and beset with points or tubercles ; the spire is very short ; the aperture is narrow and long, with a notch anteriorly ; the right lip is often digitated externally, and toothed within; the co- lumellar lip is callous and toothed or wrinkled : the operculum is horny, oval, and concentrically striated. The mollusk very closely resembles that of Buc- cinum. The mantle is provided with a tube, the foot is wide, with appendages anteriorly ; the head is of a semilunar shape, with conical tentacles with the eyes on their outer surface, near the middle. M. de Blainville enumerates nine species, all natives of the Indian Seas, where they tenant coral reefs and rocks. M. Deshayes in his tables gives the number of recent species as fourteen, and he also records one fossil species found in the tertiary de- posits near Bordeaux, Dax, and Turin. 2787. — The Spinous Ricinula (^Ricinula lionida). M. de Blainville separates Rici- nula into three sections, of which one is distinguished by the presence of a canal anteriorlyand behind the orifice, the second has no canal and is beset with spines, the third is also destitute of a canal, and is studded with tubercles. The Spinous Ricinula be- longs to the second section. We now come to the genus Cancellaria. In this genus the shell is oval or globular, thick, and reticulated; the spire is slightly elevated and pointed ; the aperture demi-oval, with a notch or short canal anteriorly ; the right lip is sharp-edged and striated within ; the columella has many plaits or wreaths; the operculum is horny. The mollusk is stated to resemble in all essential characters that of Buccinum. 2788.— The Reticulated Cancellaeia {Cancellaria reticulata). The Cancellarise are natives of the seas of the hotter latitudes, where they tenant sandy beds, ranging from seven to sixteen fathoms in depth. M. de Blainville describes twelve recent species, mostly from the Indian and African seas ; and in the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' for 1832, p. 50 et seq., will be found the characters of twenty-two new species, brought by Mr. Cuming principally from the Pacific side of Central and South America : one species, the Cancellaria haemastoma, Sowerby, is from the Gallapago Islands ; it is extremely beautiful, nearly white, with a broad dark brown band, and a brilliant orange-coloured mouth. The reticulated Cancellaria is found in the South Atlantic Ocean. The fossil species of Cancellaria are tolerably numerous. M. Deshayes enumerates forty-two as occurring in tertiary deposits, one of which is identical with a living species. Mr. Lea describes and figures eight additional species from the tertiary formation of Alabama ; he observes that in England the genus has been found only in the London clay, whence three species have been obtained. With respect to the species enumerated by M. Deshayes, he remarks that sixteen are from the Subapennines, the Pliocene of Mr. Lyell, twelve from the Miocene of Bordeaux, five from the Eocene near Paris. Previously to his description of the eight species from Alabama, a single one only had been known as American, viz. the Cancellaria lunata, from the tertiary beds of St. Mary's. We now pass to the genus Purpura, so called in allusion to the dye which some of the species afford, and which entered into the composition of the Tyrian purple. The shell is thick, smooth, or tubercular, with a sVort spire, and a dilated aper- ture, and of an oval form, terminated anteriorly by a small notch; the columella is flattened, and ter- minates anteriorly in a point; the right lipissharp, and often thickened and furrowed internally, or pro- duced anteriorly into a conical point. The oper- culum is horny and semicircular. With regard to the mollusk, it is elongated and widened in front ; the head is large and furnished with a very short proboscis : there are two conical tentacula, approximated at their base, with the eyes placed on an enlargement near the middle of their external part : the mouth is hidden by the foot, which is ample, considerably advanced anteriorly, with a semilunar marginal outline. The Purpurse are very numerous, and widely dis- tributed, principally in tlie warmer seas, a few only being European. Most are from the coasts of South America. M. de Blainville, who divides the genus into four sections, enumerates fifty species of Purpura, besides five of his section Monoceros. M. Deshayes gives seventy-six species of living Purpura, and six of Monoceros, but to these other species have been added by Mr. Broderip, Mr. Sowerby, and other naturalists, principally from Mr. Cuming's collection. 2789.— The Pebsian Purpura {Purpura Persica). This shell is an example of the patulous section without a tooth at the lip, and with a wide aperture. The accompanying mollusk belongs to the Purpura hasmastoraa. 2790. — The Imbricated Purpura (Purpura imbricata). Monoceros imbricatum, Lara. This species, from South America, is an example of the section Monoceros, in which the right lip near (he notch is armed with a 'conical spine or tooth, pointed, and more or less curved. The Purpuras are all littoral in their habits, some tenanting sandy beds, others rocks and reefs, ranging from the surface of the water to twenty-five fathoms in depth. The Purpura lapillus is common on our shores, occurring in great abundance on rocks at low water, and is one of the British mollusks pro- ducing a purple dye, analogous to the purpura of the ancients. It must not be supposed that the Tyrian purple of the ancients was a colour similar to that which we now term purple : it approached our scarlet, or at least had in it a tinge of that colour; the most superb hue, according to Pliny, was amethystine, and this was produced by the juice of the Buccinum and Pupura mixed. "Another tint was obtained by saturating astuff, which was at first amethystine, in a bath of the Tyrian purple, so that the dyer tints at first conchylian to facilitate the Tyrian tincture, which then becomes softer and more agreeable." The following observations under the article ' Dye- ing,' in the ' Penny Cyclopaedia,' are very interesting, the more so as they are written by one well ac- quainted with (he modern methods of imparting colour to different stuffs. He says, " In the article 'Calico Printing' we have shown from Pliny that the ancient Egyptians cultivated that art with some degree of scientific precision, since they knew the use of mordants, or of those substances which, (hough (hey may impart no colour themselves, yet enable white robes (Candida vela) to absorb colour- ing drugs (colorera sorbentibus medicamentis). Tyre, however, was the nation of antiquity which made dyeing its chief occupation and the staple of its commerce. There is little doubt that purple, the sacred symbol of royal and sacerdotal dignity, was a colour discovered in that city, and that it contri- buted to its opulence and grandeur. Homer marks (he value as well as anliquity of this dye, by de- scribing his heroes as arrayed in purple robes. Purple habits are mentioned among the presents made to Gideon by the Israelites from the spoils of the kings of Midian. "The juice employed for communicating this dye was obtained from two different kinds of shell-fish, described by Pliny under the names of purpura and buccinum ; and was extracted from a small vessel, or sac, in their throats, to the amount of only one drop from each animal. A darker and inferior colour was also procured by crushing the whole substance of the buccinum. A certain quantity ot the juice collected from a vast numberof shells, being treated with sea-salt, was allowed to ripen for three days ; after which it was diluted with five times its bulk of water, kept at a moderate heat for six days more, occasionally skimmed to separate the animal membranes, and when thus clarified was applied directly as a dye to white wool, previously prepared for this purpose by the action of lime-water, or of a species of lichen called fucus. Two operations were requisite to communicate the finest Tyrian purple : the first consisted in plunging the wool into the juice of the purpura ; the second, into (hat of the buccinum. Fifty drachms of wool required one hundred of the former liquor, and two hundred of the latter. Sometimes a preliminary tint was given with coccus, the kermes of the present day, and the cloth received merely a finish from the j)recious animal juice. The colours, though probably not nearly so brilliant as (hose producible by our cochi- neal, seem to have been very durable, for Plutarch says, in his ' Life of Alexander' (chap. 36), (hat (he Greeks found in (he (reasury of (he king of Persia a large quantKy of purple cloth, which was as beau- tiful as at first, though it was 190 years old.* * " Among other Uiin;j3, tliere was purple of Ilermione (?) 1o tlie amount of live Ihotisand talents." (I'lutarcli's Lives, translated by Lanijiiorne, Wrangliam's edition, vol. v. p. 240.) Horace celebrates tlie Laconian dye in the following lines; — Nee I.aconicas mihi Trahunt honeslie purpuras clientm. C'aitn., lib. ii.,Ode 18. 2 H 2 I1M.— SpIaMU (^>i.lvii. »SL - Wated Wlvlk. rmi.—lhimmt Vtiimm 2780,— Smooth liburna. ITMS.— CuirclUtal'Ouicia. 2"P?. — Vpnlrico^e Harp. 2781.— Tuben»e Ca'ais, and MoUusk of C. sulcata. ] :,% 2?«7.— Sjinous Ricinub.' 2790.- Peruvian Concholey»M. STSS. — ReticnTwled C«nreW»r». 8792.— M»r»U Cerithium and Animal of C. Telescopium. t?f9.— P«f3im Pnrpuw. STOS.-^'MaUagascai CerltUium. 270O. — Imbricated Purpura. 2"94,— Bi-carlnated Trichotropia. 238 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [PUBPUHA "The difficulty of collecting the purple juice, and the tedioui complication ot the dyeing pit>ce8s, made the purple wool of Tyre m> expensive at Rome, that in the time of Augustus a pound of it cost nearly 301. of our money.* Notwithstanding this enormous price, such was the wealth accumulated in that capital, that many of its leading citizens decorated themselves in purple attire, till the emperors arro- gated to themselves the privilege of wearing purple, and prohibited its use to every other person. This prohibition operated so much to discourage this curious art, as eventually to occasion its extniction, first in the western and then in the eastern empire, wliere, however, it existed in certain imperial manu* Ctctories till the eleventh century. " Gage, Cole, Plumier, Riiaumur, and Duliamel have severally made researches concerning the co- louring juices of shell-fish caught on various shores of the ocean, and have succeeded in forming a purple dye, but they found it much inferior to that lurnishea by other means. The juice of the bucci- num is at first white ; it becomes by exposure to air of a yellowish green, bordering on blue; it after- wards reddens, and finally changes to a deep purple of considerable vivacity. Tliese circumstances co- incide with the minute description of the man- ner of catching the purple-dye shell-fish, which wc possess in the work of an eye-witness, Eudocia Maciembolitissa, daughter of the Emparor Constan- tine VIII., who lived in the eleventh century." Mr. W. Cole of Bristol thus describes, in 1084, the process of obtaining the dye of the Purpura la- pi 11 us : — " The shells, being harder than most of other kinds, are to be broken with a smart stroke with a hammer, on a plate of iron or firm piece of timber (with their mouths downwards), so as not to crush the body of the fish within ; the broken pieces being picked off, there will appear a white vein, lying tranversely in a little furrow or cleft, next to the head of the fish, which must be digged out with the stiff point of a horsehair pencil, being made short and tapering. The letters, figures, or what else shall be made on the linen (and perhaps silk too), will presently appear of a pleasant light green colour, and, if placed in the sun, will change into the following colours, j". e., if in winter, about noon ; if in the summer, an hour or two after sun-rising, and so much before setting; for in the heat of the day, in summer, the colours will come on so fast, that the succession of each colour will scarcely be distinguished. Next to the first light green it will appear of a deep green, and in a few minutes change into a sea green ; after which, in a few minutes more, it will alter into a watchet blue ; from that, in a little time more, it will be of a purplish red ; afler which, lying an hour or two (supposing the sun still shining), it will be of a very deep purple red, beyond which the sun can do no more. But then the last and most beautiful colour, after washing in scalding water and soap, will (the matter being again put into the sun or wind to dry) be of a fair blight crimson, or near to the prince's colour, which afterwards, notwithstanding there is no use of any stiptic to bind the colour, will continue the same, if well ordered, as I have found in handkerchiefs that have been washed more than forty times ; only it will be somewhat allayed from what it was after the first washing. While the cloth so writ upon lies in the sun, it will yield a very strong and foetid smell, as if garlic and assafcEtida were mixed together." ('Phil. Trans.,' Abr. 11.826.) A similar scent was produced by the purple dye of the ancients. Mr. Sowerby, in his description of a new species of Sc8laria(Scalaria diadema) from theGallapagos, says, "A fluid secreted by the animal produces a bright purple dye." (See ' Proceeds. 2ool. Soc' 1832, p. 5a.) We aTe now presented with a patelloid or limpet- like form, constituting the genus Concholepas, which most naturalists regard as closely allied to Purpura. These shells, says Cuvier, have the general cha- racters of Puipura, but their aperture is so enor- mous, and their spire so inconsiderable, that they have in a great degree the appearance of those of the genus Capulus, or of one of the valves of an Area. Their notch has a little salient tooth on each side. The mollusk resembles that of the Biiccini, excepting that the foot is enormously broad and thick ; and that the animal is attached to the shell by a muscle in the form of a horseshoe, as in Capulus. The opercu'um is horny, thin, and narrow. Lamarck places ConchQlepas in the situation assisjned it by Cuvier. M. Rang observes that he might have well united it to Purpura, as M. de F6- russac had done, adding that M. Lesson's communi- cation respecting the animal which he brought home from the South Sea sufliciently proves that in all * riiny nys that ■ pound of the double-dipped Tyrian purple ^ws ■old in liome for a hundred crowns. essentials it agrees with Purpura, its operculum alone affording a definite character. The shell is thick, nigose, and ribbed transversely on its external sur- face ; internally the muscular impression of a hoi«e- shoe shape is very visible ; there is no columella. 2791. — The Pkblvian Coxchoi.epas (Concholepat Peruviana). It would appear that this is the only ascertained species (unless indeed others have been recently found) ; but, according to M. Rang, it presents two distinct varieties. It is littoral in its habits, and is very abundant along the shores of Peru and Chile, often attaining to a very large size. It is not known in a truly fossil state, but occurs, among other shells on the coast, at a considerable elevation above the sea. The beds of recent shells thus situated prove the upheaving of the line of coast, and that at no great distance of time. Mr. Darwin, in his admirable narrative, often alludes to these beds of shells, and the geological facts which their presencfe tends to prove. One in- teresting passage is as follows: — " August IJth, I set out on a riding excursion for the purpose of geologizing the basal part of the Andes, which alone at this time of the year were not shut up by the win- ter's snow. Our first day's ride was northward along the sea-coast : after dark wt reached the Hacienda of Quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. My object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells which are elevated some yards above the level of the sea. They nearly all consist of one species of Erycina, and these shells at the present day live together in great numbers on the sandy flats. So wonderfully numerous are those forming the beds, that for years they have been quarried and burnt for the lime with which the large town of Valparaiso (in Chile) is supplied. As any change of level, even in this neighbourhood, has been disputed, I may add that I saw dead barnacles adhering to points of solid rock, which are now so much elevated, that even during gales of wind they would scarcely be wetted by the spray." The configuration, in fact, of Chile, shows that it must formerly have been at a much lower level than at present, and cut up, like Tierra del Fuego, by inlets, bays, and coves, which are now valleys and ravines. "Chile," says Mr. Darwin, " as maybe seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land between the Cordillera and the Pacific, and this strip is itself traversed by several mountain-lines, which in this part run parallel to the great range : between these outer lines and the main Cordillera a succession of level basins, generally opening into each other by narrow passages, extend far to the southward. In these the principal towns are situated, as San Felipe, Santiago, and S. Fernando. These basins or plains, together with the transverse flat valleys, like that of Quillota, which connect them with the coast, I have little doubt, are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep bays, such as at the present day intersect every part of Tierra del Fuego and the west coast of Patagonia. Chile must formerly have resembled the latter country in the configuration of its land and water. This resemblance was occasionally seen with great force when a level fog covers, as with a mantle, all the lower parts of the country ; the white vapour curling into the ravines beautifully represented little coves and bays, and here and there a solitary hillock peeping up showed that it had formerly stood there as an islet. The contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular mountains gave the scenery a character which to me was very novel and very interesting." From this account it is easy to see how beds of unfossilized shells identical with living species, and among them the Concholepas, may occur consi- derably inland, and at a great elevation above the level of the sea. On the island of San Lorenzo (Peru) Mr. Darwin also found satisfactory proofs of elevation within a recent period. In that island extensive beds of shells exist, and he says, "When examiningthebedsof shells which have been raised ! above the level of the sea, on other parts of the coast, 1 have often felt curious to trace their final | disappearance from decay. On the island of San , Lorenzo this could be done in the most satisfactory i manner. At a small height the shells were quite I perfect ; on a terrace eighty-five feet above the sea ' they were partially decomposed, and coated by a \ soft scaly substance ; at double this altitude a thin layer of calcareous powder beneath the soil, without any trace of organic structure, was all that could be ! discovered. This highly curious and satisfactory \ gradation of change, it is evident, could be traced ' only under the peculiar condilions of this climate, where rain never falls so as to wash away the par- ticles of shells in their last stage of decomposition. I was much interested by finding imbedded, together with pieces of sea-weed, in the eighty-five foot bed, a bit of cotton thread, plaited rush, and the head of a stalk of Indian coin : this fact, coupled with , another which will be mentioned, proves, I think, the amount of eighty-five feet elevation since man inhabited this part of Peru. On the coast of Pata- gonia and La Plata, where, perhaps, the movements have been slower, there is evidence, as we have seen, that several mammalia have become extinct during a smaller change of level. At Valparaiso, where there exist abundant proofs of elevation to a greater altitude than in this part of Peru, 1 can &\vm that the greatest possible change during the last two hundred and twenty years has not exceeded th« small measure of fifteen feet." \ye might enter more fully into this interesting subject ; it is a digression into which, indeed, we have been led very naturally by the statement of the occurrence of the Concholepas with other shells far above I he sea, but which we must not pursue too far. We close it by recommending Mr. Dar- win's 'Journal of the Surveying Voyages of the Adventure and the Beagle ' to those desirous of fur- ther information. A group of turriculated shells, constituting the genus Ceritliium, invite attention. Cuvier isolates this genus alike from the Bucci- nidse and from the Muricidae, placing it between these two families. The Rev. M. J. Berkelev, and Mr. Hoffman, whose dissection of the mollusk is detailed in the ' Zool. Journal,' vol. v., consider the form as intermediate between the Trochidae and present family. The genus Cerithium is numerous both in living and fossil species ; the living species are all marine, with the exception of a few wihich live at the mouths of rivers, and which were separated by Brongniart into a distinct genus, Potaraides, adopted by Cuvier, but which M. Rang observes cannot stand, because it is not based upon characters sufficiently decided. M. de Blainville divides Cerithium into five sec- tions ; but one of these contains the Pirena, which both M. Rang and M. de F^russac place with Melanopsis. M. Deshayes enumerates eighty-seven species of living Cerithia, of which two or three only are European. In the genus Cerithium the shell is turriculated, and more or less tuberculous ; the aperture is small, oval, and oblique ; the columellar lip very much excavated and callous; the right lip sharp; the operculum is horny, oval, and striated. The mollusk is greatly elongated ; the mantle is prolonged on the right side into a canal, but not a perfect tube ; the muzzle is proboscidiform ; the tentacula are distant and ringed, with a medial prominence on which the eyes are seated. The mouth is a simple terminal slit ; the tongue is slender, with reflexed teeth. 2792.— The Maksh CKBirnuM (Cerithium paluslre). The perfect shell belonirs to this species, which tenants the salt-marshes along the coasts in the East Indies. The left-hand accom- panying figure exhibits the animal of Cerithium telescopium. 2793. — The Madagascar Cesithitim {Cerithium Madagascortense, De Blain.). Refer- ring to the two figures, a represents the Cerithium Madagascariense, Lamarck ; and b, the Cerithium Madagascariense according to De Blainville — the Pirena of Lamarck. Though these shells ap- pear to be specifically distinct, it is possible that they may be only varieties. Our impression how- ever is that they are distinct. With respect to the habits of the Cerithia, Adan- son, speaking of one of the species, says, that it lives in the sand amongst grass and mangroves, feeding on "scolopendres" and other small marine worms. The individual which formed one of the subjects of the investigation by Mr. Berkeley and Mr. Hoffman, and which was brought from Calcutta, though placed in fresh sea-water, the utmost care being taken to renew it frequently, and though all kinds of marine substances were supplied to the animal for food, refused all nourishment, contenting itself with simply walking over the substances, and, in so doing, touching them with its proboscis. As it would not feed, this individual was killed by im- mersion in spirit. The other specimen, which was anatomized by the zoologists above mentioned, was brought from Ceylon. Mr. Gray (March 25, 1834) read a note to the Zoological Society of I.ondon, giving an" account of the arrival in England of two living specimens of Cerithium armatuni, which had been olilained at the Mauritius, and had been brought from thence in a dry state. That the inha- bitants of land-shells will remain alive without moisture for many months, is, he remarked, well known. He had occasion to observe that various marine mollusca will retain life in a state of torpi- dity for a considerable time; some facts in illus- tration of which he had communicated to the Society ('Zool. Proc.,' part I. p. IIG). The present instance included, however, a torpidity of so long a Mi-'KICES.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 239 conlinuance as to induce him to mention it parti- cularly. The animal, through deeply contracted within the shell, was apparently healthy, and beau- tifully coloured. It emitted a considerable quantity ofbright green fluid, which stained paperof a grass- green colour: it also coloured two or three ounces of pure water. This green solution, after standing twelve hours in a stoppered bottle, became purplish at the pper part ; but the paper retained its green colour though exposed to the atmosphere. A spe- cimen of C. telescopium, sent from Calcutta to Mr. G. B. Sowerby in sea-water, lived out of water in a small tin box for more than a week. Cerithium has been found in the sea on various bottoms, and in estuaries, at a depth ranging from the surface to seventeen fathomc The communication to which Mr. Gray refers, in the 'Zool. Proceeds.' PL I., 1838, p. 1 16, is as fol- lows : — " It is well known that the animals of terrestrial shells are torpid during the winter in cold and em- perate climates, and during the dry season or sum- mer in tropical regions ; but it had not been pre- viously remarked that a similar slate occurs in those of marine shells. Mr. Gray found that many indi- viduals of Littorina petraea, and some of Lift, rudis, were in this condition during his stay at Dawlish. They were attached to the rocks several feet above the reach of the highest autumnal tides ; their foot was entirely retracted, and a membranous film was spread between the rock and the edge of the outer lip of the shell. The gills were only moist, the branchial sac being destitute of that considerable quantity of water which exists in it in those of the same species which are adherent to the rock by their expanded foot. In this torpid condition the individuals observed by Mr. Gray continued during the whole of his stay, which lasted for more than a week. On removing several of them and placing them in sea-water, they recovered in a few minutes their full activity." We now pass to a genns, Trichotropis, Brod. and Sowerby, the situation of which is not very clear ; though in most particulars the mcliusk agrees with Bnccinum. The shell has something the shape of Turbo ; but IS distinguished from that genus by its thinness, and from Buccinum by the want of a notch at the base of the aperture, and by the very indistinct canal. Again, from Turbo, as Mr. Broderip observes, it may be easily known by its elliptical and not spiral operculum, and by the absence of lateral ciliated membranes. It appears to be a link between Buc- cinum and Cancellaria, differing from the latter in being destitute of the oblique folds at the base of the columella. The shell, which from its soft spines is very cu- rious, may be described as turbinated and carinated externally. The aperture is wide ; the whole shell thin and delicate. It is covered with a horny epi- dermis, forming rows of numerous sharp-pointed processes along the edges of the carinae on the outer surface of the shell. The operculum is homy, smaller than the aperture of the shell, and composed of elliptical laminae. In many particulars the mollusk resembles the Buccinum, ditfering principally in having a veiy tmall fold of the mantle. The species known amount only to two, or per- haps three. 2794. — The Bi-carinated Trichotropis {Trichotropis bicnrinata). This delicate white trans- lucent shell has a double keel, each beset with soft spines ; the epidermis is horn-colour. The letter a distinguishes the operculum detached. This species is a native of the arctic seas, and has been brought from Newfoundland, and the Bay be- tween Icy Cape and Cape Lisbon, dredged up in ten or fifteen fathoms of water. An allied species, Trichotropis borealis, is also found in the Northern Ocean near Melville Island, whence specimens were brought to England by Sir W. E. Parry. A single specimen was found at Oban in Argyleshire by the Rev. T. I.owe ; and Captain Belcher procured one at Icy Cape. Whether the Fusus 4-costatus of Say, a fossil shell of considerable size, belongs to this genus or not, is a point which Messrs. Broderip and Sowerby leave undecided. It differs materially from the two recent species in having an enormous umbilicus. Family MURICID^ (MURICES, SPINDLE- SHELLS, &c.). The Siphonostomata of M. de Blainville, which he regards as closely allied to the preceding family. In this family, says Cuvier, are comprehended those shells which have a straight projecting canal ; the mollusks have all a proboscis ; tentacles close to- gether, elongated, with the eyes on the outer side. The operculum is horny; the head is destitute of a veil; they are all of carnivorous habits. The genera are numerous, and the species collectively almost endless. Of lleurotoma thirty-six neiv species are characterized by Mr. Sowerby in the ' Zool. Proc' 1833, from the western coast of South America and the islands of the South Pacific. Of Triton Messrs. Broderip and Sowerby describe sixteen new species. Of Murex twenty-three species are described by Mr. Broderip (' Zool. Proc' 1832), to say nothing of other genera. We can attempt only a sketch of the leading forms. In the genus Pleurotoma the shell is fusiform, slightly rugose, with a turiiculated spire: the aper- ture is small and oval, terminated by a straight canal more or less long. The right lip is trenchant, and more or less incised. 2795. — The Tckbkt:.) Pleurotoma. {Pleurotoma Babylonicd). This species is a native of the "^ndian seas and the Moluccas. The shell is fusiform and turreted, transversely carinated or ridged, and belted ; the whorls are convex ; the canal ratlier long, and the right lip incised a little beyond the middle. The colour is white with black spotted belts ; the spots quadrate. 2796. — The Eared Pjlkurotoma {Pletirotoma awiculifera). This species is an ex- ample of that subgeneric group in which the canal is short, and the incision of the right lip adjacent to the spire. Such shells constitute the genus Clava- tula of Lamarck. The shells of Pleurotoma occur at depths varying from six to sixteen fathoms. The fossil species are very numerous. Deshayes enumerates one hundred and fifty in the tertiary deposits. In Europe they occur chiefly in the calcaire grossier, the London clay, the clay near Bordeaux, and the Subapennine beds. Passing on to the genus Fusus (Spindle-shells), it may be observed that the shell is fusiform, often ventricose in the middle, rugose, and thick ; the spire is very produced ; the canal is straight and elongated ; the aperture oval ; the right lip tren- chant; the columellar lip smooth ; operculum horny. Fig. 2797 represents the animal of Fusus creeping on its disc ; a, the operculum. 2798. —The Distaff Fusus (Fttsus coins). This species is a native of the In- dian Ocean. The shell is fusiform, narrow, and transversely furrowed ; the whorls are convex, and carinated in a nodular manner in the middle. The right lip is sulcated within, and denticulate on the margin. The colour is white, passing into rufous at the apex and base. The genus Fusus is subdivided into several sec- tions; the fossil species are enumerated in M. Des- hayes's Tables at 111, belonging to tertiary deposits; but to this mimber others have been added, among which we may notice sixteen described by Mr. Lea, from the tertiary beds at Claiborne, Alabama, and one from Maryland. We now pass to the genus Pyrula. In this genus the shell is pear-shaped in consequence of the re- traction of the spire ; the aperture is oval and rather large ; the canal conical, and variable in length ; the right lip trenchant ; the columella smooth and bent ; operculum horny. 2799.— The Bat-like Pyrola {Pyrula Carnaria). Pyrula Vespertilio, Lam. ; Mu- rex Vespertilio, Gmel. ; Fusus Carnarius, Mart. The Indian Ocean affords this pyrula, which is distinguished by the thickness of its shell, which is large and ponderous. The spire is moderately prominent ; the ridge of the last whorl is crowned with compressed tubercles; the general colour is rufous bay. 2800.— The Fig-like Pvrula {Pyrula ficus). This species is an example of a group included in the genus Pyrula, distinguished by ventricose form of shell; the structure, moreover, it rather delicate. In the present pyrula the shell is fig-shaped, with a short spire, and a patulous aperture, prolonged into a wide canal, the columellar lip of which is somewhat flexuous ; the last whorl is ample, and transversely striated. The general colour is bluish grey, with bay or violet spots. The mouth is generally of bluish or pale violet hue. This species is found in the Indian seas ; specimens have been obtained at the Moluccas. M. Deshayes in his Tables enumerates thirty-one living species of Pyrula, and twenty-one fossil forms in the tertiary deposits, of which about four are identical with ex- isting species. Mr. Mantell records two species from the blue clay of Bracklesham in Sussex, and one from the arenaceous limestone of Bagnor. Dr. Fitton notices three from the strata below the chalk in Kent, and Mr. Lea enumerates three from the tertiary beds at Claiborne, Alabama. From the genus Pyrula we advanceto that termed Fasciolaria, distinguished by some oblique folds on the columella. The shell is of a fusiform shape, convex in the middle, with an oval aperture passing into a long and rather wide anterior canal. The right lip is trenchant, and often wrinkled internally. The operculum is horny. Fig. 2801 represents the animal of Fasciolaria: a, the operculum at the ex- tremity of a short thick foot ; the eyes are at the base of the tenlacula ; the respiratory tube is long. 2802.— The Tulip Fasciolaria {Fasciolaria tulipa). T'oe shell is fusiform, ventri- cose in the middle, and smooth. It varies in colour, being sometimes of an orange rufous tint, sometimes marbled with white and bay, girt with transverse brown lines, unequally arranged ; the outer lip is white, striated within. It is a native of the West Indian seas. The Fasciolaria; are generally found on muddy bottoms, at depths ranging from the surface tosevea fathoms. The species of the genus Fasciolaria are less nu- merous than those of many othfers. M. Lamarck records eight living species, and M. Deshayes only seven. In the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' 1832, p. 32, Mr. Broderip describes a new species, belonging to the collection of Mr. Cuming, from Panama, viz. Fasc. granosa. With respect to fossil species, M. de Blainville states the number known as seven, but M. Deshayes enumerates only five belonging to ter- tiary deposits. Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchi- son record one fossil species (Fasciolaria elongata) as occurring in the Gosau deposit, and its equiva- lents in the eastern Alps. Mr. Lea notices two, Fasc. picta and Fasc. elevata, in the tertiary beds at Claiborne, Alabama. We now advance to the genus Turbinella. The shell is in most species turbinated, but also some- times turriculated, rugose, and thick ; the spire is variable in form ; the aperture is elongated, merg- ing into a straight and sometimes short canal ; the right lip is entire and sharp-edged ; the columellar lip is covered by a broad callosity with two or three unequal and nearly transverse plaits or ridges. This genus is divided into the following sections: Section 1. Species fusilbrm and nearly smoot.'i — Example : Turbinella Rapa. Section 2. Species tuibinaceousand spiny — Ex- ample : Turbinella Scolymus. Section 3. Species turriculated and subfusiform — Example: Turbinella Jnfundibulum. 2803.— The Turnip Tubbixella {Turbinella Rapa). This species is an example of the first section, the shell being smooth, fusiform, and ventricose in the middle ; it is thick and pon- derous ; the edge of the whorls is tumid, advancing over the line of demarkation. This species is a na- tive of the Indian seas ; it is found on bottoms of sandy mud at depths varying from the surface to eighteen fathoms. The Turbinellse are all natives of the warmer latitudes. Their number is moderate. M.Lamarck enumerates twenty-three living species ; to these must be added three more described by Mr. Bro- derip from specimens in the collection of Mr. Cuming, and procured at the Gallapagos Islands, Elizabeth Island, and the Caraccas. M. Deshayes makesthe number of existing Turbinellae thirty-two, and that of fossil species three, recently discovered in the tertiary deposits. The next genus to be noticed is termed Colum- bella. The shell is thick, turbinated, with a short spire ; the aperture is narrow and elongated, merg- ing into a wider but short canal ; the right lip has the margin thickened, and the reflex part often serrated internally ; the columellar lip has a notched and thickened edge along the anterior canal. Of the mollusk itself little is known, nor is it quite clear that the genus is in its most appropriate sta- tion. One species, the Columbella avaia of Say, has not, according to M. de Blainville, the right lip thickened. 2804. — The Mercatorial Columbella {Columbella mercatoria). In this species the outer lip is distinctly serrated or toothed, the external suil'ace is transversely sulcated. It is of a white colour, with small rufous-brown transverse lines, and is sometimes banded with the same tint. It is a native of the Atlantic, and, like the Columbellae, is generally found on bottoms of sandy mud vary- ing in depth from the surface to sixteen fathoms. The species of this genus are very numerous, all tenanting the seas of the warmer latitudes. M. La- marck describes «;ighteeu species. ]\I. Deshayes enumerates thirty-three living species, and three fossil ; and Mr. G. B. Soweiby, in the • Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1832, p. 113 et seq., describes thirty- nine new species, all collected by Mr. Cuming on the western coast of South America and among the islands of the South Pacific Ocean. Of these one, the Columbella procera, is remarkable for its gigan- tic size. Though not precisely according with the characters of Columbella as given by Lamarck, yet. *7«S.— Tunttrd Pleutotomi. *79«.— Eued rimiotoma- ST9«.— Dak-Mn Pynl*. MOO.— Fijclik* Pjinl*. ST9T.— Auirul of Fnsiis. ^^ SftOT. — Animal of Fast-iolaiiA. rs*.— DUtaiT Foraa. MOS.— Tulip FucUilaria. 2i0 280i. — Turnip 'rurbi;iella. »80i.— Mercatoriiil C'>lumlwlla. 290«.— Variejfaied Triton. 28j9,— Common Thorny Woodcock. No. 81. Vol. II. S805.— Animal of Triton. 2607.— Folisted Ranella. \Mli^\\h\ 2808.— Animal of Murex. SSI 0.— Woo<\cock's Head. 2811.— Iloyal Murex. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 241 242 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [MURICKS. aays il» deiwriber, it must be placed with that genu*, to which it is more nearly related than to any other. A single specimen only was found at Pananoi. We now pass to the genus Triton. In this genus the shell is oval with the spire moderate, and the canal rather short ; externally it is in general rugose, with a few varices, scattered and longitudinal in their direction. The aperture is sul>ovai ; the right lip is thickened, the columellar lip covered by a callosity. The operculum is horny, and somewhat oval or muscle-shaped. The raollusk much resem- bles that of Murex*; the foot is thick ; the eyes are placed on an elevation at the base of the taper ten- tacula. The tube is large. The animal of Triton is represented at Fig 2805 ; a. is the operculum. The genus Triton is divided into several .sections, as follows : — Section 1. The species comparatively smooth, with thickened lines or ridges either very slight or wanting, excepting at the edge of the right lip. Example : Triton variegatus. Section 2. The species more tuberculous or ?>iny, with the aperture more open. Example : riton Lotorium. (Genus Lotorium of De Montloit.) Section 3. The species with a shorter spire, al- ways very tuberculous, and most frequently umbili- cated ; a sinus at the posterior juncture of the two lips. Example : Triton cutaceus. (Genus Aquilus ofDe Montfort.) Section 4. The species as in section 3, but with the aperture closely narrowed by a callosity and irregular teeth. Example : Triton Anus. The Grimace of collectors. (Genus Persona of De Montfort.) The Tritons occur at depths ranging from the surface to thirty fathoms; generally on sandy or muddy bottoms. 2806. — The Vaeikqated Tbiton {Triton variegatus). This handsome species, com- monly called the sea-trumpet, or Triton's shell, is found both in the seas of the West Indies and those of Asia, within the tropics. The shell is elongated, conical, ventricose below, and tiumpet-like in gene- ral contour; it is girt with very obtuse smooth ribs. The ground colour is white, elegantly varie- gated with red and bay ; the aperture is red ; the columellar lip wrinkled with while ; the edge of the outer lip is spotted with black, each black mark having two white dentlculations. The genus Triton is abundant in species. Lamarck enumerates fifty-one recent, and three fossil. M. Deshayes gives the number of living species as forty- three, and of fossil species in tertiary deposits twenty- five, of which still six exist in a living state. In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1833, p. Set seq., Mr. Broderip describes eight new species, in Mr. Cum- ing's collection, from the west coast of South Ame- rica, and the islands of the South Pacific; and at page 71 Mr. G. B. Sowerby describes eiglit addi- tional new species from the same localities. Our next pictorial specimen constitutes an exam- ple of the genus Ranelia. The genus Ranelia has the shell oval or oblong, and depressed with two varices situated laterally ; the aperture is oval, the canal short, and a sinus exists at the posterior union of the two lips. It is divided into two sections, one containing the non- umbilicated species, as Ranelia granulata (genus Bufo of De Montfort) ; the other containing the species which are urabilicated, as the Ranelia foliata. The Ranellae tenant beds of sand, and rock, and live at depths varying from the surface to ten or twelve fathoms. 2807. — The Foliated Rakella (Ranelia foliata). This species, as we have said, belongs to the urabilicated section. It is a native of the seas of the Mauritius. The characters are thusdetailed by Mr. Broderip: — Shell ovate-conical, \entricose, not compressed, of a flesh or pale rose colour ; with frequent transverse subgranulated low ridges, the interstices between which are longitudi- nally striated ; the whorls are armed with one row of sharp tubercles, the middle ones of which are the longest ; the other ridges of the body whorl are ob- soletely tuberculated here and there; the columel- lar lip is expansive and foliated, and the margin of the outer lip expanded and thin ; the aperture is ovate, very strongly and thickly furrowed, of a rich orange colour, and terminating above in a deep foliated sinus which extends beyond the varix. The species of Ranelia are rather numerous ; M. Lamarck describes fifteen in a living stale; M. de Bkinville has described another; and Mr. Bro- derip has added nine, of which eight are from Mr. Cuming's collection: see *Zool. Proceeds.' 1832. M. de Blainville enumerates only one fossil species ; M. de Fiance five, of which three from Italy are identical ; M. Deshayes gives the number of fossil species as eight, of wnich four occur also in a living state. We now come to the restricted genus Murex, which may be characterized as follows: — Shell oval, more or less eleviited on the spiral side or prolonged forwaids. Its external surface always presents rows of spires, spines, bold processes, or tubercles arranged in regular and constant order ; the aperture is oval, terminated anteriorly by a straight canal, more or less elongated and closed. The right lip is often plaited or wrinkled ; the co- lumellar lip often callous. The mollu^k has a short stout foot notched ante- riorly; the head is furnished with two long approx- imated tentacula bearing the eyes on a thickened portion ; mouth without jaws, but armed wilh hooked denticles in place of a tongue ; mantle large, often fringed on the right side ; operculum horny. Fig. 2S08 represents the animal of Murex ; a, the oper- culum. The genus Murex is subdivided as follows: — Section 1. Species with a very long and spiny tube ; the thorny woodcocks of collectors. Exam- pie : Murex tribulus. Section 2. Species with a very long tube, and without spines. Example: Murex Haustellum. Woodcock's head of collectors. (Genus Brontes of De Montfort.) Section 3. Species with three elevated, flattened, and comparatively thin varices. Example : Murex acanthopterus. Seclion 4. Species with three ramified varices. Example : Murex adustus. (Genus Chicoreus of De Montfort.) Section 3. Species which have a greater number of varices, and the tube nearly closed. Example: Murex regius. Section 6. Species which are subturriculated. Example: Murex lyratus. Seclion 7. Species which are subturriculated, the tube closed ; a tube besides is pierced towards the posterior extremity of the right side, and persis- tent upon the wborls of the spire. Example : Mu- rex pungens ; a fossil. (Genus Typhis of De Mont- fort.) Section 8. Species more globular, the spire and the canal shorter; the latter very open : the aper- ture rather wide. Section 9. Species which have an oblique fold, very much anterior to the columella, and an umbi- licus. (Genus Phos of De Montfort.) The Murices are found in depths ranging from five to twenty-five fathoms, on beds of sand, mud, &c. The species are very mimeruus. 2809. — TuE CoMMO.N Thoent Woodcock {Murex tribulus). JIurex tenuispina, Lamarck. This species, known also by the name of Venus's Comb, is a very beautiful and striking shell, remark- able for the length and slenderness of its pointed spines, arranged in regular order, indicative of the periodical developments of the edge of the mantle. It is found in the Indian Ocean ; specimens are brought from the Moluccas. 2810. — TiiK Woodcock's Head {Murex Hausttllum). In this species the shell is ventricose, naked, destitute of spines, ribbed and ru- gose ; wilh a long slender tube, and a short spire. The colour is fulvous, inclining to red, lineated wilh bay. The mouth is roundish and red. It inhabits the same seas as the preceding. 2811. — TuE Royal Mukex (Murex regius). This splendid shell is found along the western coast of Central and South America. It is one of the ornaments of the cabinet of the con- chologisl ; nor can words convey an adequate idea of its gorgeous colouring. In Lamarck's day, sixty-six recent species oi Murex and fifteen fossil species were recorded. M. Deshayes gives the number of recent species, in- cluding those of the genus Typhis (De Montfort), as seventy-five, but this is very far below the mark ; he enumerates eighty-nine fossil species in the ter- tiary deposits. Mr. Broderip, in the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' de- scribes twenty-six new species of Murex Iroin the western coast of South America, and the islands of the South Paciftc, and also five species of Typhis, all in the collection of Mr. Cuming. The MuricidiE (Siphonosloniata, De Blainville), and the Buccinidse (Entomosloniala,De Blainville), appear to be the two principal groups of marine gastropods (or trachelipods,* as some prefer to term them) destined to keep down the overabundance of the bivalve mollusks and herbivorous gastropods ; they are the destroyers among the races of their class, and prowl about in quest of prey. They drill the shells which enclose their victim, and drain out its juices, adhering till it is almost utterly con- sumed. Nor is this destruction carried forward on a limited scale. When we consider the number of •Tnichelipod,from Tga.'^nXof , the nc?ck ; and w'oy;, iraJaf, a/oot: the foot in tuese moUuak* appearing as if undt'X llic ht^ad and neck. species included within the two families in question, and the countless thousands of individuals of each of these species, and reflect ujwn their voracity, we may form some slight idea of the extent ol their operations, and of the consequent influence they must exert in maintaining the balance of crealion. Throughout all seas are these carnivorous mollusks carrying on their appointed work : in ministering to tlieir own necessities, they fulfil the great pait in the vast scheme of creation to which they are ap- pointed. We have now before us a miscellaneous assemblage of shells picked up upon our own shores, and few are undrilled ; some of these carnivora have battened on their tenants, and the waves have washed them on the beach. In other ages, as we have abundant proofs, the plan of destruction, in Older to counterbalance increase among these marine shell-clad molli^sks, was in operation. Dr. Buckland, in his admirable ' Bridgewater Treatise,' gives the following details connected with fossil shells, once the living inhabitants of other seas, when the surface of our planet exhibited a ditt'eieiit arrangement of land and water. " Most collectors," says the Professor, " have seen upon the sea-shore numbers of dead .shells, in which small circular holes have been bored by the pre- daceous tribes, for the purpose of feeding upon the bodies of the animals contained within them ; similar holes occur in many fossil shells of the tertiary strata, wherein the shells of carnivorous trachelipods also abound ; but perforations of this kind are ex- tremely r:ue in the fossil shells of any older forma- tion. In the green sand and oolite tliey have been noticed only in those few cases where they are ac- companied by the shells of equally rare carnivorous niuliusks; and in the lias and strata below it* there are neither perforations nor any shells hiiving the notched mouth peculiar to perforating carnivo- rous species. It should seem from these fads that, in the economy of submarine life, the great family of carnivorous trachelipods performed the same necessary ofiice during the tertiary period which is allotted to them in the present ocean. We have further evidence to show that in limes anterior to and during the deposition of the chalk, the same important functions were consigned to other car- nivorous mollusks, viz. the testaceous cephalopods : these are of comparatively rare occurrence in the tertiary strata and in our modern seas ; but through- out the secondary and transition formations, where carnivorous trachelipods are either wholly wanting or extremely scarce, we find abundant remains of carnivorous cephalopods, consisting of the cham- bered shells of nautili and ammonites, and many kindred extinct genera of polythalamous shells of extraordinary beauty. The molluscous inhabitants of all these chambered shells probably possessed the voracious habits of the modern cuttle-fish ; and by feeding like them upon young testacea and Crus- tacea, restricted the excessive increase of animal life at the bottom of the more ancient seas. Their sudden and nearly total disappearance at the cora- meneement of the tertiary era would have caused a blank in the 'police of nature,' allowing the herbi- vorous tribes to increase to an excess that would ulliniately have been destructive of marine vege- tation, as well as of themselves, had they not been replaced by a different order of carnivorous crea- tures destined to perform in another manner the office which Ihe inhabitants of the ammonites and various extinct genera of chambered shells then ceased to discharge. From that time onwards we have evidence of the abundance of carnivorous trachelipods, and we see good reason to adopt the conclusion of Mr. Dillwyn, that in the formation above the chalk the vast and sudden decrease of one predaceous tribe has been provided for by the creation of many new genera and species possessed of similar appetencies, and yet formed for obtaining their prey by habits entirely dift'erent from those of the cephalopods. The design of the Creator seems at all times to have been to fill the waters of the seas and cover the surface of the earth wilh the greatest possible amount of organised beings enjoy- ing life ; and the same expedient of adapting the vegetable kingdom to become the basis of tlie life of animals, and of multiplying largely the amount of animal existence by the addition of carnivora to the herbivora, appears to have, prevailed from the first commencement of organic life to the present hour." (' Bridgewater Treatise.') Family STROMBID.E (STROMBUS, PTERO- CERAS, &c.). This family constitutes the Angyostomata of De Blainville. In this family are comprehended the shells which, says Cuvier, have the canal straight, or bent to the right, and the outer lip of the aper- ture dilated with age, but always preserving a sinus towards the canal, under which passes the head when the animal extends itself. Most have this sinus at some distance from the canal. * Carnivorous g.^tropo-Js occur in llic Silurian rocks. Strombus.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 243 Cuvier, followine; Lamarck, divides the Strombidae into thiee principal genera : Strombus proper, Pte- roceras, antl Rostfllaria. In Strombus proper the outer lip dilates into a wing, more or less extensive, but not divided into digitations. The loot is proportionally small, and the tentacles carry the eyes on a lateral peduncle, thicker than the tentacle itself. The operculum is horny, long, and narrow, and carried on a slender tail. In Pteroceras the wing, or dilated outer lip, is divided in the adult into long and slender digita- tions, according to the species. The animal is the same as that of Strombus. In Rostellaria the sinus of the externa! edge is contiguous to the canal, and there is generally a second canal, reascending along the spire, and formed by the external lip, and by a corresponding contniuation of the columella. Fig. 2812 represents a species of Strombus (Pte- roceras lambis), extricated from the shell and dis- sected (female) : a, the foot seen at its anterior part with its groove ; 6, the operculum fixed at its pos- terior division ; c, the ocular peduncles or tubes with the slender tentacles; rf, the proboscis open to show the tongue ; e, the cerebral ganglion, be- hind which are two long salivary glands ; f, the oesophagus entering a large stomach ; g, the stomach partially opened, and showing the entrance of the oesophagus ; /(, the intestinal canal ; i, k, I, and 771, other internal organs ; n, the respiratory siphon ; o, the large branchia with its vein which goes to the heart ; p, small and rudimentary bran- chia; q, the heart; r, the liver. 2813. — The Broad-winged Strombus (Strombus latissimus). As an example of the genus Strombus we select this remarkable species, which is by no means common. It is a native of the In- dian seas, and grows to a large size, often mea- suring from eight to twelve inches in length. The shell is turbinated and ventricose, smooth on the back, but somewhat wrinkled on the wing ; the spire is short; the wing or external lip very broad, rounded above, and extending beyond the spire. It is very thick, but becomes thinner at the margin, which is sharp anteriorly. The general colour is orange-brown variegated with white ; the aperture is smooth and white with a roseate tinge : a repre- sents the shell seen from above ; 6, the same seen from below. 2814. — Thk Scorpiom Pteroceras (Pteroceras Scorpius). The shell in this species is somewhat oval, tuberculate, and transversely ru- gose. The outer lip or wing is divided into seven slender knotted or curled digitations, of which those in the centre are the shortest. The general colour is while spotted with rufous ; the aperture is viola- ceous red, with the rugae white. 2815. — The Chisese Spindle (Rostellaria rectirostris). In some species of the genus Rostellaria the outer lip is digitated, as in Rostellaria Pes Pelicani, the type of the genus Aporrhais of some authors; some have dentilations only on the edge, with a straight canal ; others, constituting the genus Hippocrenes of De Mont- fort, have the external lip dilated, but not denti- lated. The present species has the lip dentilated. The Chinese spindle is a rare shell, and specimens with the long slender beak unmulilated are seldom to be met with in collections. A specimen exists in the British Museum in which this part is perfect, or nearly so, and recurved. The shell is fusiform, with an acute apex; the whorls are rather convex. In young specimens the dentilations of the outer lip are either wanting or very small. The lip terminates in an elegant canal or volute at the bottom of the spire, and is indicated at the letters a, a. General colour brown ; darker on the inside of the outer lip. It is a native of the Indian seas, and has been dredged up in the Straits of Macassar. The StrombidsB are carnivorous in their habits, and tenant the seas of the hotter latitudes; many are Indian, some are found at the equator. Two species of Rostellaria, viz. R. Pes Pelicani, and R. Pes Carbonis, are natives of the Mediterranean and other European seas. The number of species is very considerable ; and many, as the huge Strombus Gigas of the West Indies, attain to enormous dimensions. It is a curious circumstance that in several of the Strombidae pearls have occassionally been discovered, and also, it may be added, in some others of the turbinated te^taceans. We need scarcely observe that pearls consist essentially of the same material a-s the substance called nacre, or mother-of-pearl, with which the shell is lined. In pearls this nacre 18 found to be deposited in concentric layers round Vol. II. ^ some minute extraneous sub.stance, irritating the mollusk ; such at least is generally the case. Mr. Wood, in his ' Zoography,' informs us that he saw a pearl of a pink colour, taken from the body of the mollusk of a Strombus Gigas, dredged up near the island of Baibadoes, where this species of " shell-iish" is served up at table. Its weight was twenty-four grains, but unfortunately it was not perfectly round, a circumstance which rendered it less valuable. Though thousands of "shell-fish" are annually brousrht to the market in that part of the world, yet Mr. Wood states that he was acquainted with only four instances of pearls being found, not, as he supposes, because they are really scarce, but because the negroes who clean the fish do not take any trouble to look for them, but perform their work without consideration ; hence, as he has reason to believe, many pearls with the refuse of the fish are thrown back into the sea. With respect to the genus Strombus, M. de Blainville enumerates fifty- two recent species; the Strombus Gigas occurring also in a fossil state in tertiary deposits, but of the genera Pteroceras and Rostellaria the numbere are limited. The fossil species of Strombidae are not met with so frequently as those of other groups. M. Des- hayes gives the number of Strombi as nine, includ- ing the Strombus Gigas. Of the Rostellariae M. Deshayes records eight species in the tertiary strata. Mr. Lea describes two species from the Claiborne beds, Alabama ; Dr. Mautell one species from the sandstone of Bognor, and two species from the Thanklin sand. Dr. Fitton (see his 'Strata below the Chalk ') also enumerates some species. ORDER TUBULIBRANCHIATA (Guv.). CuviERconsidersthattheTubulibranchiata, although they are closely related to the Peclinibranchiata, ought to be separated from the latter, because their shell, being in the form of a tube, more or less irregular (the commencement of which alone is spiral), is firmly attached to other bodies; from which cause, when once fixed, they have no power of shifting their station; hence are they necessarily bisexual, each individual continuing the race. He divides this order into three genera, Vermetus, Magilus, and Siliquaria. With respect to Magilus, it was placed by La- marck among the Annelids, in the family Serpu- lacea; but M. de Blainville appreciated its relation- ship to Siliquaria and Vermetus, between which it is placed by Cuvier. M. Rang states that, when he was seeking the animal in India, he was stiuck with the analogy which the genus presents, not only to Vermetus, but also to some of the Pectinibianchiata; an analogy, as he observes, the more remarkable when a young individual, the shell of which has not yet become tubular, is examined. The young shell of Magilus is, in fact, very simi- lar to that of Leptoconchus striatus, which, as we have previously said, becomes imbedded in masses of coral or madrepore (Meandrina, &c.), in which Magilus also occurs ; and Dr. Riippell suspects that M. Rang might have mistaken the Leptoconchus for the young of Magilus. Between these shells there are, he adds, certain clear distinctions. In Leptoconchus the margins of the shell are always disunited, the contrary in Magilus ; the latter has an operculum, the former has none. The proboscis, moreover, in both is different, and the mollusk of Magilus has a siphon, which is not present in Lep- toconchus. Both tenant the masses of Meandrina in the Red Sea. (See ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1834, and 'Trans. Z. S.' vol. i.) 2816.— The Magilus (Magilus antitjuus). The Magilus is here repre- sented in its young condition, before the evolution of the tube. 2817.— The Magilus (Magilus antiqwis'). In this specimen the long sinuous tube indicative of age is very remarkable. We shall proceed to explain the manner in which this development takes place, and which is very in- teresting. First let us refer to the young shell (Fig. 2816); we find it of a delicate fragile struc- ture, covered with a thin epidermis, of a ventricose figure, with a short spire of three or four turns, and a patulous aperture, the lip being produced ante- riorly so as to form an angle. It is in this stage a regular spiral univalve. We must now suppose the young Magilus to have taken up its abode in tome recess or fissure of the madrepore, itself in a state of growth, from the secretion of the living polypes. With the increase of the madrepore, in order that it may not be blocked up, and so destroyed, it has to put some plan in operation so as to preserve its I aperture on a level with the surrounding mass, I thereby securing free admission to the water. The ! plan dictated by instinct, for it cannot shift its (juarters, is to add to the margins of its shell, build- ing up layer after layer, according to the growth of the madrepore, and in that direction which circum- stances may determine, and which will consequently vary. In proportion as the mollusk adds to the tube, so it advances forwards from the spiral shell, which it quits, filling it up with compact calcareous matter, almost crystalline in structure, and re.sides in the tube ; and, as this continues to be lengthened, so does the animal continue to advance, filling up the unoccupied space behind with the same material. Thus, then, as necessity requires, the mollusk of the magilus carries out its tube, to which the operculum is so adapted as toactasabarrier against the assaults of enemies — a protection the more necessary as it cannot change its position. It would appear that only one species is recognised, viz. Magilus anti- quus : it is of a whitish colour. We now turn to the genus Vermetus. Let our reader fancy a group, of serpentiform tubes, all intertwined together, such as poets de- scribe the hair of Medusa, covering old shells or stones, and he will have a good idea of the Vermeti. Such a group is represented at Fig. 2818, in which several species are depicted, like a knot of snakes, coiled in fantastic wreaths, but elevated on their tails, and dancing to the music of the charmer, who had " Then framed a spell when the work w.is done, And changed the * living' wreaths to stone." The Vermeti, says Cuvier, have a tubular shell, of which the whorls at an early period form a sort of spiral shell, but which alterwards become pro- longed into a tube more or less irregular, or twisted like the tubes of Serpulae (certain annelids). This contorted shell is usually fixed by being intertwined with others of the same species, or in consequence of being partially enveloped by lithophytes. The mollusk never creeps, and therefore has no foot properly so called ; but that part which in ordinary gasteropods may be called the tail is doubled under- neath, advancing before the head, and having its extremity dilated and furnished with a slender operculum. When the animal withdraws itself this mass closes the orifice of the tube : it has sometimes peculiar appendages, and in some species the oper- culum is spiny. The head is obtuse, with two mo- derate tentacles bearing the eyes at the outer side of their base; the mouth is a vertical orifice, be- neath which, on each side, appears a filament hav- ing all the appearance of a tentacle, but which in reality belongs to the foot. The branchiae Ibrra only a row along the left side of the respiratory cavity. The species are rather numerous, but not very distinct. Linnaeus, guided by the form of the shells, placed the Vermeti with the Serpulae ; and the Vermilise of M. Lamarck, which are identical with the Vermeti, are left by that naturalist in the situation assigned by Linnaeus. Such are the Ser- pula lumbricalis, Linnasus, and the Serpula tri- quetra, with several others. As in the genus Magilus, the mollusk gradually advances as it adds to its tube, so as to occupy the more anterior portion only. In general the eggs of these mollusks become fixed about the spot where they are exuded ; hence we may easily understand how it happens that the shells are generally found in groups; yet single isolated specimens are not uncommon, the agitation of the waves having scattered the eggs asunder, and kept them suspended till at length they be- come fixed upon a suitable basis. Some species, as Vermetus lumbricalis, have the commencement of a spire, the whorls of which rise perpendicularly ; others take a horizontal direction with the orifice only elevated. 2819. — The Dentilated Vermetus ( Vermetus dentiferus). This species was procured by MM. Quoy and Gaimard during the voyage of the Astrolabe, a is the shell ; b, the mollusk. It occurs on shells along the coast of New Holland, in Shark's Bay, &c. 2820. — The Lumbeicoid Vkbmetus (Vermetus lumbricalis). It is this species of which a group, fixed on a shell, is represented at Fig. 2818; and, from the varied contortions and inter- lacings of the individuals, most picturesque is their general aspect. A similar group in the British Museum has olten arrested our attention. We now turn to the genus Siliquaiia. The Siliquaria; resemble the Vermeti in the ge- neral aspect of the mollusk, in the ibrm of its head, in the position of the operculum, and in the tubular and irregular structure of the shell. There is, how- ever, this remarkable distinction— the shell pre- sents a slit or unfilled line throughout its whole, following the direction of its flexures, and which corresponds to a similar fissure in that part of the mantle which covers the branchial cavity; along one side of this fissure of the mantle runs the 2 I 2 8818.— Animal of Slrombus. 2816. — Magilus : Young. S614, — Scorpion IHeroceru. 2815.— Cliinese Spindle. 2813. — Broad -winged Strombitv. 28'.7.— ^fagi^IB. 244 2819.— Dciitilated Vermutiis. 2821 .— Muricated Siliqunria. S820. — Lumbricoid Verraetiis. 2824.— EudJy HiiliotiB. 282.-!.— Ribbed Sea. Kar. 2818. — Group of ^'ennetI. 2822.— Tuberculated Sea-E»r. 245 246 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Haliotidje. branchial pectination, composed of a number of slender and tubular foliations. Linnaeus placed these animals with the Serpute ; and even in more recent days they have been regarded as belonging to the Annelids. 2821.— Th« Muricatid Siliqoaru (Sili'quaria mvncald). This beautiful species is a native of the Indian seas. M. Milne Edwards, who refers to the labours of M. Audouin and M. de Blainville on the Sihquariae, observes that these animals were first distinguished by Guettard under the name of Tenagode, and that till lately they were considered as belonging to the Annelids, ami closely related to the Serpula-. This, he adds, is not their true situation ; they should, in fact, be placed near the Vermeti, from the con- formation of their tubiform shell. Indeed M. Sa- vignv had been led to suspect that their affinities to the SerpulsB %vere by no means so immediate as had been imagined ; and M. de Blainville, advancing still farther, recognised in these animals all the leading and essential characters of the true mol- lusks — an opinion the truth of which subsequent investigations have amply confirmed. M. Audouin, to whom Cuvier acknowledges him- self indebted for the account which he gives of Siliquaria in the ' Kdgne Animal,' and who had the opportunity of investigating the structure of one of these mollusks, has demonstrated their affinity to the Vermeti, which indeed might be presumed from the characters of the spirally-contorted shell, not- withstanding the fissure which interrupts the com- pletion of the tube. The shell, when recent, is covered with a sort of epidermis, and it is adherent, by its walls, to foreign bodies, much in the manner of the annelidous Serpulse, but less firmly. Both Vermetus and Siliquaria occur in a fossil state. Of the former, M. Deshayes records eight living; to which must be added Vermetus denli- ferus, Vermetus Zelandicus, Vermetus giganteus, Vermetus carinarius, and Vermetus roseus, de- scribed by MM. Quoy and Gaimard (' Zoology of the Astrolabe '). They occur at various depths from the surface to twelve fathoms, in sponges, under stones, on shells, and in masses of coral. Of the fossil Vermeti M. Deshayes records one species from the tertiary deposits at Angers. The form, however, occurs below the chalk. Dr. Fitton enumerates six species from the upper green-sand, the gault, the lower green-sand, Blackdown, and the Hastings sand. With respect to Siliquaria, in the last edition of Lamarck's ' Animaux sans Vertebres,' six recent species are enumerated, and four fossil ; of which one, the Siliquaria aiiguina (Sei-pula an- guina, Linn.), is found both in a recent and fossil state. Mr. Lea records a species, the Siliquaria Claibom- ensis, from the tertiary of Alabama. Some species of recent Siliquariae have been found imbedded in sponges. ORDER SCUTIBRANCHIATA. The order Scutibranchiata, in Cuvier's system, comprehends a certain number of gastrnpodous mol- lusks, exhibiting a tolerably near approximation to the I'ectinibranchiata in the form and position of the branchiae, and also in the general contour of the body, but which are bisexual, each individual con- tinuing the species. The shells are very open, destitute of operculum, and the greater number not at all turbinated, so that they cover these animals, and particularly their branchiae, in the manner of a buckler. In the structure of the heart, which is traversed by a portion of the intestinal tube, they resemble the majority of bivalve mollusks. Family HALIOTID./E, or SEA-EARS (Les Ormiers of the French). The Hiliotidae constitute the only group of the present order in which the shell presents turbina- tions. The spire, however, is very compressed and small ; the mouth excessively ample, and the whole contour flattened. This form has caused the Hali- otis to be compared to the ear of a quadruped, and given origin to the title. In the genus Haiiotis the shell is wonderfully brilliant, with the most beautiful iridescent hues, re- sulting from its nacreous composition. Mingled tints of purple, red, blue, and green, interchanging in various lights, produce an admirable effect. The general form of this splendid shell is oval, more or less depressed, with a small spire, having a lateral aspect posteriorly ; the aperture is as large as the shell, with a continuous border ; the right border is delicate ; the left or columellar border is flattened enlarged, and trenchant ; along this border is a series of orifices, in lineal order, as if drilled in the shell. Muscular impression single, and oval in the centre of the under side. The animal is one of the most ornamented of the gastropods. All round its foot, and even over the mouth, there runs, at least in the more common snecies, a double membrane, fringed as it were with elegant foliations, and furnisbeu besides with a double row of filaments. The tentacles are long, and on the outside of each is a cylindrical peduncle, on which the eyes are respectively placed. The mantle is deeply fissured on the right side ; and the vrater which is admitted through the holes of the shell can, through this fissure, penetrate into the branchial cavity. Along its edges there are, more- over, three or four filaments, which the animal is capable of protruding through these holes. The mouth is a short proboscis. Cuvier observes that Montfort has separated from Haiiotis, info a distinct genus termed Pwdollus, such species as have the shell nearly circular, almost all the holes obliterated, and present a deep furrow, which is continued along the central part of the whorls, following their direction, and is bounded externally by an elevated ridge. This genus, Padollus, was admitted by Dr. Leach, but is rejected by Mr. 0. B. Sowerby, who, in his 'Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells,' observes that, with the exception of a few species which are com- monly known by collectors as Imperforate Ear- Shells, the genus Haiiotis has suftered no dismem- berments. An attempt indeed, he adds, " has been made by Montfort to separate from the genuine Ha- liotides two or three species under the name of Padollus, in which he has been followed by Leach; but as far as respects general adoption this attempt appears to have been as unsuccessful as it was un- necessary. Not so the separation of the Imperfo- rate Hahotides, which are so easily distinguished by wanting the row of perforations so very character- istic of the true Haiiotis." These imperforate Sea- Ears form the genus Stomatia of Lamarck. The shell is hollower, the spire more elevated, and the row of orifices is wanting. In other respects they resemble the Haliotides, which, says Cuvier, they connect to certain forms of Turbo. Their moUusK is much less ornamented than that of Haiiotis. The Haliotides are marine, and littoral in their habits. Covered with their buckler-like shield, and destitute of an operculum, they adhere by their foot-like limpets to the surface of the rocks, near the water's edge, where they creep about, feeding on herbage, which, according to Lamarck, they seek for, during fine summer nights, along the margin of the shore. If we except the colder latitudes, the genus Ha- iiotis is distributed through all seas ; the largest, however, are natives of the hotter regions. Of these some are nearly as large as a plate, and are absolutely dazzling from the splendid iridescence of their nacre. One species, the Haiiotis tuber- culata, is common on the coasts of Southern Europe, and was known to the ancients : it is found in toler- able abundance round the coasts of Guernsey and Jersey, and empty shells are occasionally washed upon the southern shores of our island (and more particularly the coast of Devonshire) after violent storms. Yet Mr. Sowerby is of opinion that it can- not be considered in the light of a native of those shores, though it is, doubtless, of the coasts of France, Spain, Italy, &c. 2822.— The Tuberculated Sea-Ear (^Haiiotis tuherculatd). The animal is represented crawling, with its shell uppermost, at a; the inte- rior of the shell is represented at h. This species, which, as we have said, is common at Guernsey and Jersey, is used as food ; and pro- bably the other species are equally palatable. A learned writer, who assures us that, as an article of food, this genus is by no means to be despised, adds — "We have eaten Haiiotis fuberculata, and when served by a good cook it is tender and sapid. The large fleshy foot, if not properly managed, is apt to be tough. ' He further informs us that "the people of Guernsey and Jersey ornament their nouses with the shells of this species, disposing them frequently in quincunx order, and placing them so that their bright interior may catch the rays of the sun. We have often thought that some of the large and splendid intertropical species, whose exterior, after removing the outer coat, takes a polish almost equal to the natural brilliancy of the inside, might be converted into dishes for hold- ing fruit: if mounted with good taste, their inde- scribable iridescence would materially add to the richness of air elegant table." 2823.— The Ribbed Sea-Ear (ffnliotls costata). This species is an example of another form of Haiiotis, in which the surface is co- vered with ribs and intervening furrows, following the tournure of the shell. The outer lip is slightly denticulated. 2824.— The Ruddy Haliotis {Haiiotis nibicunda). Padollus rubicundus, Montf. We have already alluded to the genus Padollus, by Montfort, but not admitted by characterized Sowerby. In the appendix to the ' Narrative of the Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia, performed between the years 1818 and 1822, by Capt. PhiHp Parker Kine, R.N.,' Mr. Gray de- scribes this species, which he regards as the Pa- dollus rubicundus of De MonKbrt, Padollus scala- ris of Leach, and Haiiotis tricostalis of Lamarck. This beautiful and large specimen, which measures three inches and a half by two and a half, was brought to England by Captain King, who procured it upon Rottnest Island, on the west coast of Aus- tralia. The three anterior holes only are open, but these, as well as the others, which are closed, are highly elevated, as is also the ridge following the tournure of the whirls on the upper surface. Lamarck says that the Haiiotis tricostalis is a native of the seas of Java, and gives M. Leschenault as his authority. With respect to Stomatia, it differs, as we have already said, from Haiiotis. The shell presents two muscular impressions internally, seldom distinct, nearly marginal, and in the open part of the shell. The Stomatiic are natives of the East Indian seas, and those of New Holland. They have been found at a depth of seven fathoms, adhering to corals. It is very doubtful whether any fossil species of Haiiotis has been discovered (Mr. Sowerby observes I that he has seen incrustations taken up from the sea near the Cape of Good Hope, approximating to this form) ; M.Rang, however, says, we possess one or two in a Ibssil state ; and M. Deshayes records the Haii- otis fuberculata as both living and fossil from Sicily. Cuvier in a note('R6gne Animal,' vol. iii. p. 11) says, " This genus (Haiiotis'), although the fact has been contested, has certainly its analogue among fossils. M. Marcel de Series has described one spe- cies found inthecalcaire of Montpellier, viz. Haiiotis Philberti. (Ann. des Sc. Nat., t. xii. p. xlv. f. A.)" Family FISSURELLIDvE (FISSURELLA, EMAR- GINULA, &c.). M. de Blainville has constituted an order termed Cervicobranchiata, for the reception of the limpets, which form his family Iletifera, and for the Fissu- rellae, Emarginulae, &c., forming his family Bran- chifera. Cuvier observes that the genera Fissurella, Emar- ginula, &c., which have usually been joined to the limpets, belong to the Scutibranchiata. Dismem- bered from the Patellae, he says, they have the shell altogether symmetrical, as well as the position of the heart and branchiae. The branchiae are two in number, large, equal, and pectinated. They are in a large cavity, to which leads an opening, pierced at the apex of the shell, or a fissure at the anterior part of the shell, admitting the efflux of the water received through an anterior orifice. This will be more clearly understood by the de- scriptions of the genera in detail, and first that termed Fissurella. The mollusk of Fissurella is furnished with a large fleshy disc underneath, as in the limpet; a conical shell placed on the middle of the back, but not always entirely covering it, and pierced at the top with a little orifice, which serves for the pass- age of the egesta and the water necessary for re- spiration. This orifice conducts into the branchial cavity situated at the anterior portion of the back, and moreover widely opened above the head. On each side of the cavity, and symmetrically disposed, is a branchial pectination. The tentacles are coni- cal, and the eyes are seated at their base exter- nally. The sides of the foot are fringed with a row of filaments. The shell is conical, and much like that of a limpet; — the muscular impression on its inner surface is in the form of a horse-shoe. Fig. 2825 represents the animal and shell of Fissurella; Fig. 282G, the shell of Fissurella viewed from above. The genus Fissurella is very extensively spread ; in its habits it is littoral, frequenting rocky beds and reefs at various depths, ranging from the surface to twenty-five fathoms. 2827. — TuK Cloudy Fissurella (Fissurella nimbosa). According to M. Deshayes, three distinct species have been conlbunded toge- ther under the title of Fissurella nimbosa, from the time of Linnifus downwards. — The present is the species indicated by Lamarck, and figured by Martini. 2828. — The Roseate Fissurella {Fissurella rosea). The extremities of the shell in this species are raised, forming a sort of canal. It is a native of Guiana, &c. 2829. — ^The Greek Fissurella (Fissurella grccca). The shell of this species is co- nical. It is a native of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. FlSSURELLID^E.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 247 The living species are very numerous ; M. Des- hayes enumerates thirty-three living, to which must be atlded twenty-nine species described in the Proceeds. Zool. Soc. 1834, p. 123 et seq., by Mr. Sowerby — two excepted, one by Mr. Frembly, the other by Mr. Gray; — all from the south-west coast of America, and the islands of the South Pa- cific Ocean. Of fossil species M. Deshayes gives eight as the number in tertiary deposits. Of these eight, three species are also living, viz. Fissurella Grai'ca and F. costaria in the Mediterranean and other seas of Europe, and also in the Indian seas, and F. neglecta, a native of the Mediterranean. It appears that another species, F. Noachina, still ex- tant in the northern seas, occurs in a fossil state in Sweden and Norway. It is a link between Fissu- rella and Emarginula. The genus Emargiimla pre- sents nearly the same characters as Fissurella, ex- cepting that the shell, instead of having an aper- ture at the summit, has an anterior fissure corre- sponding to a similar fissure in tlie mantle, which leads to the branchial cavity. This fissure is some- times marginal, sometimes in the middle of the back of the shell. The edsres of the mantle envelop and cover to a great extent those of the shell. The conical tentacles have the eyes seated on a tubercle at their outer base. The edges of the foot are fiinged with iilaraents. The shell is not regularly conical, but is very abrupt posteriorly, often even concave, with the apex bending backwards. Fig. 2830 exhibits in outline the animal and shell of Emarginula. Fig. 2831 represents the shell of Emarginula conica, in which the fissure is marginal. 2832. — De Blaisville's Ejiargiscla (Emarginula Blahaillii). This species is an ex- ample of a group of Emarginulae in which the fis- sure is remote Irom the anterior edge of the shell, approximating tow ards the apex. 2833. — The Common Emarginula {Emarginula fissura). Patella fissura, Linn. The Emarginula fissura is a native of the seas of Europe, and aftords an example of those species which are distinguished by a compressed form, with the ante- rior border deeply notched, and the summit stronijly marked, a, the natural size; 6, magnified; c, the magnitied shell turned up, shovvmg the animal in iitu. 2834. — The Emarginate Emargixcla (Emarginula emarginata). In this species we have an example of a group in which the form is still more compressed, Uut in which the anterior border is only bent into a gutter ; the summit is still pro- minent. 2835. — The Depressed E.mabginii,a (Emarginula dcpressa). This species of Emargi- nula represents a group, in which the form is much depressed, the summit very little developed and almost centrical, and the notch marginal but small. M. de Blainville has separated a group from Emar- ginula, and elevated it to the rank of a genus, under the title of Parmophorus. The Parmophori, says Cuvier, have, like the Emarginiilas, their shell in a great measure covered by the reflected edges of the mantle ; the shell is oblong, slightly conical, and equally destitute of orifice or notch ; the branchiso anil general organization are the same as in Fissu- rella. Whether the Parmophori are separated from the Emarginulae on good ground appears to be very questionable. M. Deshayes. in the last edition of La- marck (183G), makes the following observations : ~ " Cuvier was the fiist who gave anatomical details of the genus Emarginula ; and he made it appear how much analogy there existed between it and Fissurella. Sufficient differences nevertheless exist between these two genera to warrant their adoption in systematic arrangements. But the same does not ho!d good with respect to the genus Parmo- phorus. M. de Blainville, to whom we owe this last genus, and who was the first to make the animal Known, had judiciously preconceived the necessity of its junction with Emarginula. In fact, not only liave the animals of the two genera a perfect ana- logy (affinity), insomuch that in some instances it is difficult to distinguish between them, but the shells themselves, as might have been supposed a priori, in some cases offer passages from one genus to the other, the number of which will be augmented by additional discoveries. When we have before us a fairly complete series of living and fossil species, belonging to the two genera, the following train of | remarks suggests itself; namely, the two fossil spe- : cies of Parmophorus have no trace of a marginal '■ notch ; Parmophorus Australis has the anterior i border a little depressed in the middle, and, corrc- ! sponding with this depression, a small crest is to be ; seen within the shell, indicating the separation of the mantle. Further, among the species of Emarginulae brought home by MM. Quoy and Gaimard, there is one which they name Parmophoida, and which would seem to be deprived of a marginal notch. In the Subemarginulae of M. de Blainville the shells have no longer this notch, but they have, within, a deep furrow (sillon) in place of it. In other species, as Emarginula rubra of Lamarck, and Emarginula elegans of Defrance, the small interior furrow is terminated on the border by a very short notch, and from this commencement (presenting the first trace of a fissure) to the termination of the series of species, we see this notch become deeper and deeper, and change at last into a deep slit occupying one- half of the height of the shell." M. Deshayes then proceeds to comment on the differences of the shells in other respects, as far as external fo:m is con- cerned, observing that, while from the general aspect of the shells the zoologist is induced to separate the genera, the structure of the animals themselves, on the contrary, forbids such a separation, as it affords no structural data on which the two genera can be respectively established. He adds that Mr. Sowerby has come to the same conclusions, and in his 'Genera of Shells' has united the Parmophori to Emarginula, an arrangement which other naturalists will, he doubts not, regard as warranted. 2836. — The Austkai. Parmophorus (Parmophorus Australis). Emarginula Australis. In this example of M. de Blainville's genus Par- mophorus, now merged into Emarginula, the shell is much compressed, and striated concentrically. It is a native of the seas of New Holland, New Zealand, &c. In their habits the Emarginulae resemble the Fis- surellse ; they frequent rocks, at depths ranging from the surface to eleven fathoms. With respect to fossil Emarginulae Mr. G. B. Sowerby, in his ' Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells,' observes that they are scarce ; they occur however, he adds, " in the calcaire grossier and its contem- porary strata, in the crag of Suffolk, Essex, and Norfolk, and in the Bath oolite. They are very elegant little fossils, particularly Lamarck's Emar- ginula clypeata. We cannot consider his Parmo- phorus elongatus as a species of this genus, for its vertex is anterior, as its muscular impression de- monstrates. Consequently we find in it no mark of a canal at either end ; it must therefore be classed with Patella." M. Deshayes in his tables enumerates seven living species of Emarginula, and eleven fossil species, from tertiary deposits : one, the Emarginula fissura, is both living and fossil ; it occurs in the seas of Europe, and is found fossil in the crag at Bordeaux and Dax, and also near Paris (Pliocene, Miocene, and Eocene periods of Lyell). De la Beche records two species in the blue marls of the south of France ; one the E. reticulata of Sowerby, the other closely approaching the E. fissura. In the cretaceous group, De la Beche enumerates two species, E. sanctae Catharina; and E. pelagica, both from Rouen. In the oolite group he records one species, E. scalaris, Sowerby, from the great oolite at An- clifF, Wilts. M. Deshayes, in his edition of Lamarck, 1836, enu- merates eleven species living, and only five occur- ring in a fossil state. The latter are E. costata and E. clypeata, from Grignon ; E. radiola, from Par- nes ; and E. elegans, and E. clathrata, the first from Paris and Valognes, the other, a rare fossil, from Parnes. With respect to Parmophorus of De Blainville, M. Deshayes in his tables gives two living and several fossil species, the latter from tertiary deposits. Of these, one is from Touraine, where it occurs in the Miocene beds of Lyell. He enumerates two from the crag ; three from Touraine ; three from Angers ; five from Paris ; and two from Valognes. In his edition of Lamarck, only two species are noted as fossil, one the P. elongatus, which with a variety occurs at Grignon; the other P. angustus, from Paris. Before we leave the family FissurellidsB, we may revert to the observations with which weintroduced it, namely, that M. de Blainville places it with the true limpets (Patella), in the same order (cervico- branchiata) ; whereas Cuvier disjoins this family from the limpets entirely, and that on the differences observable in the characters of the branchial appa- ratus. M. de Blainville, indeed, maintains that in both groups the organs of respiration are in a cavity situated above the neck ; that they exist in the form of pectinations in the P'issurellidae, and in the form of a net or delicate raeshwork on the roof (plafond) of the branchial cavity in the limpets, whence he terms them lletifera. On the contrary, Cuvier considers that the branchial organs of the limpet exist in the form of a fringe of filaments, forming a cordon under the edge of the mantle. These two opinions are at perfect variance with each other ; and if Blainville be correct, the ar- rangement of Cuvier must be defective. Assuming for the present, however, that Cuvier is right in his opinion, we shall follow him in assigning the Pa- tellae to a distinct situation from that in which the Fissurellidae are placed, and when we come to the family Patellidoe, the first of the succeeding order, endeavour to give an outline of the observations of some of those conchologists who have investigated the subject. ORDER CYCLOBRANCHIATA (Cuv.). The Cyclobranchiate mollusks have the branchisB in the form of little foliations, or pyramidal bodies like filaments, attached"en cordon," or in a row more or less complete, under the edge of the mantle, nearly the same as in the Inferobranchiata, from which they are to be distinguished by their bisexual structure, each individual continuing the race inde- pendently. The heart varies in situation, but is not traversed by any part of the intestinal canal. In a note (see 'llegne Animal,' vol. iii. p. 113) we learn that the Cyclobianchiataof Cuvier are not the Cyclobranchiata of M. de Blainville. Cuvier says, " M. de Blainville, who terms the order in which he places Doris" (one of the Nudibranchiata of Cu- vier) " Cyclobranchiata, makes of the genera Fissu- rella, Emarginula, and Parmophorus, and of the Patellae, an order which he names Cervicobran- chiata; and which he divides into Retifera and Branchilera. The lletifera are the Patellae, because he supposes that they respire by means of a network on the roof of the cavity which is above the head. I have not been able to discover or see any other organ of respiration besides the cordon of foliation which runs all round under the border of the mantle. See the anatomy of the Patella in my memoirs on the mollusks." These observations bring us to the first family : — Family PATELLID^ (Limpets). The PatellidaD, according to Cuvier, have the entire body covered with a shell in the form of a widened cone ; under the borders of the mantle runs a cordon of small branchial foliations; the head is furnished with a short and thick proboscis, and two pointed tentacles having the eyes at their outer base. The mouth is fleshy and contains a spine-armed tongue, which is continued backwards and folded deeply in the interior of the body. The stomach' is membran- ous ; the alimentary tube, long, slender, and very much folded ; the heart is placed forwards above the neck, and a little to the right. To this detail of characters we may add a remark by Mr. G. B. Sowerby (' Genera of Recent and Fossil- Shells') : he says, " There is no canal for the passage- of water to the branchiae, as there is in Emarginula. and Siphonaria, for in this genus (Patella) the bran- chiae are external, surrounding the animal." The - want of access to a branchial cavity, if it existed with its vascular network, is out of the question. If we consult Rang, who follows Cuvier in his . description of the mollusk of Patella, we find that he makes the following observation : " M. de Blain- ville believes that he has perceived the branchiae of ' the Patellae in a vascular network attached to the plafond of a branchial cavity. Not having been able to distinguish this network, we think with Cu- vier that the organ of respiration shows itself in these animals in the circle of leaflets, which sur- - rounds the body, between the foot and the mantle, as in the Phyllidians" (Inferobranchiata). This circle of leaflets being always exposed to the action, no branchial cavity is needed, and, as they are covered with minute cilia, they maintain a per- petual current over their surface, flowing from the outer to the inner edge, and thus fulfil the office of ' branchiae. M. Deshayes, in his edition of Lamarck's 'Ani- maux sans Vertebres,' makes some valuable remarks • on the structure and natural affinities of the PatellECr- in which he supports, with irrefragable arguments,-, the views of Cuvier, and points out the causes vvhichi led to M. de Blainville's mistake. More recent observations confirm the correctness of these views, and demonstrate the truth of Cuvier's opinions. Fig. 2837 is a representation of the animal of Patella. The Patellae are widely spread. They exist in every latitude, excepting in those of the arctic seas : many are common on the coasts of Europe, but it is in the hotter regions that they are most numerous, and display the largest dimensions. In their habits they are littoral, frequenting rocky coasts, where they are found fixed upon stones, reefs, and large shells ; many crawl about, continually changing their resting-place, but some seem to be long stationary in one spot, to which they closely adhere. The depth at which they are found varies from the surface to thirty fathoms. They are said to live upon fuci and other sea-weeds, the substance of which is easily broken up by the action of their rasp-like tongue ; yet we cannot imagine how such tttt.— Aninul of FuiukIU. tm.— Dt Blian\ineN BmtrginiiU. »(U6.— ShtU of Fissuretla. 8833. — Common Emari{ialiU. y^^^ % 2IIS7. — Qoudy Fiatorella. • S839, — I>e^ieu«d Ku:ax^iiaula. 2829.— GreeTt FiMurella. Si^30,— Animal of Kmarginula. S828.*Koseate Fiwurell*. 8831. — Emarglnnla conica. 3(i3S.— \MtrAl l*Armip*o.'ai, 8%>31.— !£-iici^'nate Kinai^;iuU. 248 2S45.— DenUlium. 5841.— ScutelUr r.impet. SUIT.— Animal of Patella. 2S38.— Common Limpet. 2846.— Animal of Dentaliuni. 2840. — Compressed Limpet. S642. — Spoon-shaped Limpet. 2843.— I^eelinated Limpet. 2«39.-t;ildedLiinpit. 8844.— Boat-shaped Limpet. No. 82. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 2t9 250 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Limpets, species as are long affixed to one spot can obtain this aliment: they must derive their nourishment from the animal and vegetable particles with which the Mater is abundantly charged. Those who have been in the habit of observing limpi'ts on the rocks of our own coast cannot fail to have observed that in many instances the shell is, as it were, let into the rock to some depth, and that evidently by the operation of the mollusk in exca- vating a cavity which is adauted precisely to the form and siie of the shell. It is not very easy to explam, in a satisfactory manner, the mode by which this wearing of the rock is accomplished. Some are inclined to attiibute it to the efFect of absorption; others to the perpetual action of a current of water, caused by the action of the branchial fringe around the mantle ; and others to the agency of some se- cretion liy which the structure of the rock is decom- posed. Some species adhere to shells, and the same effect is produced as on the rock. In an admirable paper in the 'Philosophical Transactions' for 1833, on the economy of mollus- cous animals, Mr. Gray, speaking of a foreign spe- cies (the Patella cochlea), often found at the Cape of Good Hope, states that it lives " almost ex- clusively attached to a large species of ihe same genus, on the surface of which it forms a flat disk exactly the size of its mouth. To form these flat disks (of which there are generally two — one on each side of the apex of the larger Patella, so as almost to form a character of Ihe species), and to assist in the increase of its size, the animal appeara also to absorb the coi-alline or other similar sub- stances with which the larger shells are abundantly covered. The common Patella of our own coast, when long adherent to another shell of its own species, to chalk, or to old red sandstone, or lime- stone, also forms for itself a deep cavity of the same form as its shell, and evidently produced by the dis- solution of the surface to which it is affixed." It is a remarkable fact that the limpet adapts the rim of its shell to the shape or ii-regularities of the substance to which it adheres. This has been often noticed, and is dwelt upon by Mr. Gray. He ob- serves, that, " when a Patella or a Crepidula has attached itself to the flat surface of a rock, or the leaf of a large fucus, the base of its shell is flat, and its mouth roundish ; when it adheres to a concave surface, such as the cavity of an old shell, the base becomes flattened, and convex internally ; and when it fixes itself on the round stalk of a fucus, the sides become compressed so as in some measure to clasp the stem, and the lateral portions of the base pro- ject beyond the front and hinder parts to such an extent that when placed on a flat surface it rocks backwards and forwards. Several nominal species of these and allied genera depend on variations in the shape of the shell, caused by the adhesion of the animal to surfaces of different forms : thus the Patella pellucida of Montagu is synonymous with the P. caerulea of the same author, the former having been founded on specimens taken from the stalk, and the latter on individuals obtained from the flattened frond of the fucus, on which the species usually takes up its abode. It is indeed by no means rare to find specimens in which the animal has moved from one of these positions to the other, and in such cases the shell represents P. caerulea, and the base P. pellu- cida, or vice versa. The same change takes place with regard to P. miniata and P. compressa. I have in my collection a specimen of this latter shell, which is P. miniata at the top, it having in its youth lived on the frond of a large Cape fucus ; it afterwards removed to the stem, and liecame compressed, and consequently is in this part the P. compressa ; but by some accident it was again induced to change its situation, and, removing to a flat surface, the edge of the mouth expanded, and it became a second time P. miniata, or perhaps what may be called by some authors P. saccharina, as this also appears to be a conical variety of the same species. Lamarck has described a similar specimen ; and Mr. Sowerby, in his 'Genera of Shells,' has figured an example of this species, showing the two states. In like manner the Crepidula porcellana, when applied to a flat surface, nas an expanded base and a flattened inner lip ; but when adherent to a convex body, such as the stem of a sea-weed, or, as frequently happens, to the back of another shell of the same species, the animal being pressed into the cavity, the inner lip becomes concave, and the sides of the aperture are contracted. In this state the shell is called by some authors C. fomicata. " When the shells of this family are adherent to irregular surfaces, they adapt their margins to the irregularities with which they meet. I have several specimens from the coast of Devonshire, ha\ing one or more processes on their sides which fitted into holes in the rock to which I found them attached ; and such changes are the more remarkable, as some specimens are seen constantly moving from place to place, whilst others appear to remain for a long time fixed to one spot, and even those that are stationary in the young state constantly elevate the margins of their shells when the tide is low." From this circumstance it is evident that many varieties of these shells may be mistaken for distinct species, of which indeed the catalogue is very extensive. To this |)oint Mr. G. B. Sowerby (' Genera of Shells') has made express allusion, and adduced some instances in which such a mistake mieht very pardonably be made. From these preliminary observations we proceed to notice a few examples, each the representative of one of those subgeneric groups founded by M. de Blainville on external configuration. Section o. This group is composed of such spe- cies as have a nearly true conical form of shell, with the apex obtuse, vertical, and almost exactly mesial. 2838.— Thb Couuoh Limpet (Patella vulgata). This species is abundant on the coasts of Europe, and few have visited the rocky shores of our island without having noticed it, if, indeed, they have at all attended to the living pro- ductions of the sea, which many who visit what are termed watering-places never even dream of. Many an hour which drags heavily with the ennuyfi would pass agreeably were such objects sought after and observed ; but sorry are we to say that to some Na- ture has little attraciiveness, little to interest or de- light. Such a man exists as though he existed not, — he loses half the pleasures allotted to human en- joyment. Section /3. In this section the species are less conical, and the apex is placed more anteriorly, with a slight inclination forwards. 2839.— The Gilded Limpet (Patella deauiata). This species is found in the Straits of Magellan, or Mageihaens, on the shores of the Falkland Isles, &c. Section y. In this section the species are elon- gated, oval, and compressed at the sides, with the apex anterior, and inclined forwards. 2840. — The Ccmpressed Limpet (Patella compressa). The species is a native of the Indian Seas. Section i. In the species included under this di- vision the form of the shell is extremely flat, or de- pressed, and the apex very slightly developed, and somewhat anteriorly placed. 2841. — Thk Scutellar Limpet (Patella scutellaris). This is a singular form, with an irregular margin, and furrows radiating from a little abrupt conical apex. Section i. This contains species depressed like those of the preceding section, but which differ in being much narrower anteriorly than posteriorly. 2842. — The Spoon-shaped Limpet (Patella cochlearea). The under surface of this ex- ample is represented. It is a type of the genus Helicon of De Montlort. Section Z- This section is composed of oval spe- cies, with a well-marked apex, decidedly inclined forwards. 2843. — The Pectinated Limpet (Patella jiectinata). This is a pretty species, found in the Mediterranean Sea. Section ij. In this section the species have the shell delicate, oval, nacreous, with a festooned mar- gin ; the apex is marginal, anteriorly. 2S44. — ^The Boat-shaped Limpet (Patella ct/mbularia). This species is so different in the form and appearance of its shell, that, at first sight, it might scarcely be recognized as belonging to the present genus. Though the living species of Patella are ex- tremely numerou.', M. Deshayes enumerating a hundred and four, yet the fossil species are very li- mited, and of these one. Patella sequalis, is existing in the seas of Europe ; it is met with, fossil, in the crag. According to Mr. Sowerby fossil forms of Patella occur in the oolite, in the lias, in the Oxford clay, and the chalk marl, of the secondary series ; also in the calcaire grossier, and probably the Lon- don clay of the tejtiary series, together with the crag — the pliocene of Mr. Lyell. Before leaving the genus Patella we may notice that termed Scutella by Mr. Broderip, established on some shells collected by Mr. Cuming among the islands of the South Pacific. Unfortunately the living animals had been destroyed before the shells were taken, probably by some carnivorous creature ; but, though proof positive is wanting. Mi-. Broderip is inclined to refer the genus to the Cyclobranchiata. See 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc.,' 1834, p. 47. With respect to the genera Siphonaria, Patelloida, and I.ottia, which in the form of the shells closely resemble the Limpet (Patella), yet, as the mollusks differ greatly in organization, having a single pec- tinated branchial apparatus on the right side, as in Fissurella, and not a cordon of filaments, they must be referred to the Scutibranchiata, to which order, as we have said, Fissurella and Einareinula belong. We now turn to the genus Dentalium, respecting the position of which there is yet no little diffi- culty. By the earlier writers the Dentalium was regarded asan annelid, one of the Tubicolir, and even Cuvier, in the last edition of the ' Rigne Animal," retains it among those articulated creatures, observing, however, that the recent observations of M. Sa- vigny, and more particularly of M. Deshayes, ren- der this arrangement very doubtful. He adds, — "The animal does not present any sensible articula- tions, nor any lateral bristles, but it has anteriorly a membranous tube, in the interior of which is a sort of foot, or fleshy conical operculum, which closes the orifice ; on the base of this foot is a small flat- tened head, and on the neck are the branchiir, in the form of tul^s. If the operculum reminds us of the foot in Vermetus and Siliquaria, which have been restored to the Mollusca, the branchiae have much resemblance to those of Amphitrite and Te- rebella. Further observations on the anatomy of Dentalium, and principally on the nervous and vas- cular systems, will resolve the problem." It is to M. Deshayes that the discovery of Ihe real nature of the Dentalium is owing, and his opi- nions respecting its being a true mollusk have been fully confirmed. Linnaeus arranged Dentalium after Patella, and before Serpula; and Lang placed it in a group after Patella, together with all the calcare- ous tribes of Annelids then known. Brugiires gave it almost the same position as Linnaeus. M. de Blainville, in his ' Malcologie,' 1825, agrees with M. Deshayes in assigning the Dentalium to the Mollusca, and he establishes it as the type of an order, which he terms Cirrhobranchiata, and places next to Patella. M. Hang, in 1829, follows M. de Blainville, but places the Cirrhobranchiata, of which Dentalium is the only representative, between Fis- surella and Patella. Mr. Gray, who has compared the description of the animal given by M. Deshayes with specimens in Ihe British Museum, is inclined, we believe, to consider its place in systematic ar- rangement as approximating to the Fissurellae, but yet at a considerable distance. With respect to the British species Mr. Gray observes, that the apices often appear to be broken or worn off, and that the animal, for protection, then forms a slight tube with- in, which is more or less produced beyond Ihe tip; and the late Dr. Turlon described a specimen so re- paired as a distinct species under the name of Den- talium labiatiim. Several specimens of the common Dentalium are now before us, and every one has the tip perfect, and Ihe edges of the small apical orifice are smooth and polished. In placing this genus after Patella we do not mean thereby to indicate that such is its true situa- tion ; doubtless it is the type of a distinct family, and perhaps order, for which De Blainville's name of Cirrhobranchiata is very appropriate. The shell in Dentalium is very simple ; it is an elongated cone, slightly curved, and open at each extremity by a rounded orifice. The animal is of a conical elongated form, the dor- sal surface corresponding with the convexity of the shell, the ventral suiiace with the concavity. The whole anterior part of the animal is invested by a fine membrane, which is fixed posteriorly to the origin of the foot, and is free in front where its cir- cumference is thickened. It is perforated in the centre; Ihe thickened portion is muscular. Dividing this mantle down the middle surface of the back, the foot, head, and branchiae are brought to view. The foot is elongated, subcylindrical, slightly conical, and fleshy. The head consists of a mouth only, and is situated superiorly at the hinder extremity of the foot. The respiratory system consists of two branchiae symmetrically situated on the lateral and posterior parts of the neck, and supported on a divided peduncle. They are composed of many very fine, soft, flexible, tentacular filaments, with club-shaped terminations, and appear from their position to be equally adapted for directing nutri- ment towards Ihe mouth, and for fullilling the task of aerating the blood. The form and characters of Dentalium will be better understood by reference to our pictorial spe- cimens than by a long verbal description. Fig. 2845 represents the shell and animal of Den- talium entalis: a, the shell of Dentalium eiitalis, of the natural size; ii, the shell magnified and broken lonsjitudinally, showing ihe animal in a contiacted state ; a, the' posterior extremity prolonging itself into a small accidental tube; c, the shell magnified, with Ihe animal at the moment of its advancing out in order to obtain food ; a and /;, the foot, the lobes of which are developed in the form of a corolla; c, a part of the collar of the mantle. Chitons.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 251 Fig. 2846 represents the animal extricated from the shell, in different views: D, the animal magnified, the abdominal aspect ; a. the extremity of the foot ; | b, the collar of the mantle ; d d, the liver ; e, the in- testinal lube ; /, the efrg-sack : g, the muscle of in- sertion ; j and h, the expanded expansion, which is fimnel-shaped, and called by Deshayesthe pavilion ; I egpstive orifice ; F, the same, dorsal aspect, mag- nified ; a. extremity of the foot; b, the collar; c c, the month : d. a slight projection produced by the head and the branchia; ; e c, internal retractile mus- cles;//, external retractile muscles; jr, the neck of the pavilion ; h, the pavilion ; e, the same, with the mantle slit along the dorsal and medial line, de- tached in part from its posterior insertion, and turned aside, so as to show the parts enclosed ; a, the ex- tremity of the foot, which closes the aperture, j, of the collar, I VI, of the mantle, n op; b b, lobes of the foot ; r, the foot itself, presenting a depression, or a channel, running its whole length; rf, the head ; e, the cerebral ganglion ; //, the two jaws; g g, the peduncles of the branchite ; hh, ii, the branchiae; pp, g g, the retractor muscles ; s, the muscle of in- sertion ; /, the pavilion ; o, the animal, one-fourth of natural size ; h, the same, one-sixth of natural size. The genus Dentalium is very widely distributed, few seas being destitute of some species. Generally these shells are found on sandy shores, in rather shallow water, but sometimes at consideral)le depth. The species, as enumerated by Deshayes, are twenty- three living, and thirty-four fossil in beds of tertiaiy formation. Four new species, from the shores of South America, w ill be found described by Mr. G. B. Sowerby in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological So- ciety,' ls.3-.', p. 29. Family CHITONID^ (CHITONS ; Les Oscabrions of the French). The Chitons constitute a very remarkable group of mollusks, covered by a shell formed of eight distmct portions, arranged upon the back, in a single row, and attached to a tough leathery mantle, the edges of which extend beyond the borders of the plates ; these latter are transverse, and overlap each other, constituting a sort of armour, veiy different, indeed, to the turbinated shell of most groups, or the coni- cal shell of a limpet ; they are differently marked and patterned in different species, and the border is mostly covered with scales, hairs, or spines. Thus protected, the Chiton can roll itself up like an arma- dillo, and stretch itself out again for the purpose of progression, or of attaching itself, limpet-like, to the rock. This power supposes an arrangement of mus- cles in connexion with the plates, in order that the mechanism of the armour may be complete. The foot of the mollusk is oval, and the branchiae con- sist of small leaflets placed, as in Patella, in the fur- row between the foot and the mantle. They are covered with cilia. There is no projecting distinct head, and both eyes and tentacula are wanting. The mouth is furnished with a long tongue, rolled up spirally, and armed with horny teeth. Fig. 2847 represents the eight shelly plates of Chiton, separated from the mantle, and from each other, so as to show their outline. Fig. 2848 shows the shelly plates of an allied ge- nus termed Chitonellus. Fig. 2S49 shows the animal of Chiton squamosus; o, the animal and shell seen from above ; b, the ani- mal seen from below ; c, a side view of the shell and animal in a creeping or adherent state ; d, a portion of Ihe branchiaa magnified. Though the Chiton has no affinity to the multi- valve shells of Linnaeus (the Lepas and Balanus, or barnacles), yet they were all associated together by that naturalist, forming an artificial group compo.sed of a most heterogeneous assemblage ; and though his arrangement has been long abandoned (Adan.ion having, indeed, demonstrated the true characters of the animal by careful observations, and Cuvier hav- ing confirmed Adan.son's views by anatomical inves- tigation), yet M. de Blainville has, in some measure, returned to the linn-jean arrangement, and formed a section of the mollusca, termed Malentoioaria, of which Lepas and Chiton form two classes. This ar- rangement, however, has not been adopted by other zoologists, who generally recognise the affinity of Chiton to Lepas. The Chitons are specifically veiy numerous, and are found on mo^t rocky shores; they attain to the largest size in the iiotter climates, with some excep- tions, for two large species occur on the shores of Tierra del Fuego ; none, however, appear to exist in the high northern seas, and the British species are small. We may now turn to our pictorial speci- men.s, of which such are selected as illustrate the minor groups into which the gonus is for conveni- ence divided. Section a. In the species of this section the bor- der of the mantle is leathery and naked.. The fol- lowing t.vo species arj examples. Vol. U. 2850. — The Chilian Chitok (Chiton chilcnsis). This Chiton has the shell ob- long-ovate, opaque, and thick, of a dark-brown co- lour, smooth and dull ; the inside is white, with pink markings on the first, second, and last plates. The plates are marked by longitudinal striae, and crossed by irregular concentric ridges. The anterior and posterior plates are semilunate, and slightly punc- tated; the second plate is subcarinated, with the front margin obtusely angled, the lateral margins arcuate ; and the posterior margin with a promi- nent beak, on each side of whicli diverges a rather elevated granulated ridge ; the next five valves are alike bow-shaped, with a granulate ridge on each side. The border is smooth, coriaceous, or leathery, tough, thick, and of a darker colour than the shell ; it is semipellucid, broad at the sides, and narrow an- teriorly and posteriorly. This species of Chiton is found on the shores of Valparaiso, in the crevices of rocks, and under stones. 2851. — Dk Blainville's Chiton (Chiton Blainmllii). In this curious species the border of the mantle is greatly enlarged anteriorly and contracted posteriorly ; it is of an orange red, and fringed here and there, not with hairs, but with little coriaceous filaments. The shell is roundish, the anterior plate is obscurely ranged, the posterior one small and abrupt, the others are concentrically lineated. The general colour is roseate, varied with white, brown, and greenish ; inner surface white. This Chiton is found on the shores of the Inner Lobos Island, coast of Peru. Section /3. In this section the mantle-border is smooth, but with tufts of hair at the lateral extre- mities of each plate. 2852. — The Tufted Chiton {Chiton fascicularis) . This is a small species found on the southern coast of our island, and also in the Mediterranean. Specimens from the Baibary coast are stated by Montagu to measure not unfrequently an inch in length. Bi itish specimens measure about five-eighths of an inch in length, and rather more than two-eighths of an inch in breadth. The shell is apparently smooth, but, when examined by a glass, presents a rough shagreened surface, except along the elevated dorsal ridge ; around the margin, at the junction of each plate, is a tuft of whitish hair ; besides two tufts in front, making altogether eigh- teen. The colour is brown or cinereous. Section y. In this section the mantle-border is covered with hairs. 2853. — The Peruvian Chiton {Chiton Pemvianus). The Peruvian Chiton has the border of the mantle narrow and coriaceous, and thickly covered with long coarse black hairs. The shell is oblong-ovate, opaque, of a dirty yellowish green, or yellowish brown ; the inside is white. The plates are thin and slightly elevated, having the posterior compartments a little raised ; they are mi- nutely striated. From between each emerges a se- ries of short black hairs, which lie on the back of the shell. This species of Chiton is found under stones at low water, on the shores of Valparaiso Bay. Its length is two inches, its breadth one inch and a half. Section S. In this section the mantle-border is beset with spines. 2854. — TuE SpiNOSE Chiton (Chiton spinosus). In the Spinose Chiton the shell is brownish black ; the plates are opaque, those an- teriorly placed are granulated over the entire sur- face, those posteriorly are granulated at the sides. The border of the mantle is wide, and beset with long aculeated blackish spines, closely resembling those of certain Echini. Total length three inches. This is a very rare species, and according to Peron is a native of the South Seas. 2855. — The SriNirEBOus Chiton (Chiton spinipnus). Chiton aculeatus, Barnes, not Linnaeus. 'J his is a large species, with the shell opaque, oblong-ovate, reddish brown, and glossy; the inside is reddish white. The posterior angles of the plates do not overlap Ihe anterior edges of the succeeding. The first plate has generally nine rows of raised dots diverging from the apex, but the number appears to vary with age ; the second plate is rather acutely beaked and carinated, longer than the five following, which are striated and shaped alike, carinated, with an acute beak, and presenting a row of elevated dots. The last plate is striated and beaked, with a row of raised dots under the beak. The border is coriaceous, thick, broad, rough, and of a greenish or orange colour. In young spe- cimens it is thickly covered with blunt spines, but in old shells the spines are short and scanty, and generally covered with corallines. This species attains to the length of five or six inches, but it is then destitute of beauty, the sharp- ness of the pattern on the shell being lost, and the spines covered with a dirty coat of calcareous mat- ter, so often observed encrusting old shells and other submarine bodies, the result of precipitation. Mr. Frembley, who found this species on the rocky coasts of Valparaiso and Chili, states, that it fre- quents exposed situations, and is olten Ibund adher- ing to the rocks over which the sea breaks with great violence, where there is no little danger as well as difficulty in obtaining them ; they are generally co- vered with sea-weed. Section i. This section is distinguished by the border of the mantle being scaly. 2866. — The Coquimbo Chiton (Chiton Coqnimhensis). The shell of this species is ovate, narrow, and opaque ; — while young, its colour is of a glossy greenish brown ; the inside blackish. The anterior plate is marked with nume- rous undulated concentric ridges, and all except the first are rather acutely keeled ancl beaked ; a ridge diverges on each side from the beak, forming a sagittate figure, below which are longitudinal striae. The border is thick, moderately broad, and co- vered with coarse seed-like scales, which are at- tached laterally. As the animal advances in age, the middle of the plates, which are very solid, be- come eroded, and covered with limpets, balani, &c. The only locality, Mr. Frembley says, in which he found this species, was on the south side of the coast of Coquimbo bay. In its habits it resembles the preceding species, excepting, as he states, that it appears to be more gregarious. Section ?. In this group the border of the mantle is granulous. 2857. — The Magniwcent Chiton (Chiton magnificus). It is very difficult to give by mere words an idea of the patterns which the shells of the Chitons present, and of the form of the separate plates. Mr. Frembley, whose details we follow, characterizes the shell as dull, opaque oliva- ceous, and dotted with lighter-coloured spots, with the inside glaucous. The first plate has regularly radiating striae crossed by concentric ridges; the posterior margin is nearly straight. The other plates are obtusely beaked, and divided laterally into two compartments, the anterior having regular longitudinal striae, crossed by others very minute and concentric ; from under the beaks diverge to the lateral margins of the plates coarse and more irregular stria;, which raise the posterior compart- ment above the other. The last plate has a w^li- defined apex leaning towards the posterior margin. The border is thin, moderately broad, and covered with fine shining bead-like granulations of the same colour as the shells. Ttiis species is the Chiton olivaceous of Frembley ; but it had previously received from M. Deshayesthe title of magnificus. It grows to the length of about five inches ; and is found on the coast of Chili. We now come to the genus or sub-gemis Chitonellus, which contains such species as have the border highly developed, and the valves very small ; in some species, indeed, they are olten almost entirely hidden under the skin of the mantle, so that the animal has almost a naked appearance ; the body is often almost vermiform. Fig. 2858 represents two examples:— a, the smooth Chitonellus (Chitonellus laevis) ; b, the larviform (Chitonellus larvaeformis). Whether the genus Chitonellus is founded on solid grounds is very doubtful; a series of gradations leads from the more completely armour-clad Chitons to such as have the plates rudimentary and hid in the mantle; and there is no point in Ihe series at which a line of generic demarcation can be diawn. Its retention may nevertheless be convenient. It would seem that fossil species of Ihe Chiton are of rare occurrence. We learn from Mr. Sowerby that detached valves are occasionally found near Paris, in the calcareous sand and in the crag of our island. M. Deshayes, in his edition of Lamarck, gives one species from the tertiary of Giignon, discovered by M. Deli-ance, and a second species belonging to the transition rocks in the neighbourhood of lournay, due to the researches of M.VI. Duchastc] and Puzos. Here then we leave the Gastropodus mollusks ; we have given a sketch of their principal Ibrms, from the Slugs and Helices to the slug-like Chitons covered with their shelly plates, not, we trust, with- out having conveyed some degree of inlbrmation to our general readers who wish to know more of these animals than what may be learned from a mere ex- amination of the shell. We now commence the review of another class, namely, the Bivalve-shelled Mollusks, or Acephalous Moliusks of Cuvier, the latter term implying the absence of a distinct head. CLASS CONCHIFERA Bivalve -SHELLED Mollusks, or AcKrHALous- SiiELi.ED Mollusks (Les Acej holes Testaces of Cu- 8«M.— Spiiur..-roiu Chiton. ^ 6 1 2 1 '^tSk'^S^ 'Mk'm tM7.— Shelly PlilMOfClnlon. 2849.— Animal of Chiton squ«mo«u». 2«;)3.— reniviui Chiton. I'A/lifis SMC— Shelly PI»t« of Cliitonrtltts. 28*4,— Spinow Chiton. ^j^sKm>A 5861.— Tilfled Chiton. 2656.— Coquimlto Chiton. 284!.— Do BUInville's Cliiton. S850.— Chilian Chiton. 28S8 —Smooth ((i) and Larvifarra (6) Chitonelltta. 2857.— Magnificent Chiton. 252 ; t-6?.— Prickly Oyster. SMS.-^Cyelw roneft. 281)3,— Cock scomb Oyster. Sesr.— Oyjfer-bo«'s. asas, — Oyster- dredger. 253 251 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [CoNCUIFEnA. vier: LamelUbranchiata, De Blaiiiville). thU claiw Lamaick aiisociatei all the Under molluiks inclosed in bivalve klielU, inc'udin!^ also the Biachiupoda, which however constilute in the arrani;enierit of Ctivier a distinct c1hi>s, and as such we shall consider them. The number of species belont^ing to tlie Conchi- fera almost exceeds imagination. They pave the shallower parts of the ocean, where the shells, ac- cunuilatini; as the animals die, form deep beds, which at some future ejioch, when the sea shall have left lis present situation, may attract the attention Of ffeolosists. and excite their' speculations as to the condition of this planet at the remote epoch of their dejiosilion. It is thus, as we examine the various strata, the clays, the chalks, tlie limestone rocks wliich abound in the fossil bivalves of ages past, that we muse over the state of our globe when the sea was where hills and rocks are elevated ; and thus shall it be again, as Time rolls on, developing the ceaseless agencies of change which lie hid in this planet, or are inseparable from the operations, che- mical or mechanical, of Nature hersell'. The Conihil'era are invariably aquatic, and, as we see in the oyster, are attached to the valves by one or more muscles destined for closing the valves toge- ther, and retaining them firmly shut. Such shells as have only one adductor muscle are termed Mono- mi/arinns; such as have two are termed X)(/«yan'a;w. In The Monomyarian shells it is the posterior muscle which is present, and tliere are often some very mi- nute traces of an anterior muscle. The valves are united at their back by means of a hinge ; this hinge is formed by the inner layer of the shell, and con- sists either of a simple cardinal process, or of a ser- rated edge, or of projections or teeth which fit into corresponding cavities. To this is superadded a ligament which binds the two parts together, and keepsihe teeth or projections in their places. This ligament is either internal (being hidden by the car- dinal edge) or external. It is wonderfully elastic, composed of fibres compacted together, and per- pendicular to the valves they connect; and its office IS to open the shell when the adductor muscles, of which it is the antagonist, are relaxed. After the death of the animal, when these muscles lose their power, owing to this elasticity of the ligament the valves gape wide, more so than during the life of the mollusk. But before proceeding, we may here give a brief explanation or the external characters of a bivalve shell, and for this purpose let us consult the Figs. 2859. 28G0, and 2861. The form varies,— that of Cytheraea we select as an example. The semi- circular lines on the upper surface at Fig. 2s59 indi- cate the stages of progressive increase, by deposition from the mantle or pallium, which, as we shall here- after explain, covers the animal. The line from a to p gives the longitudinal measurement of the shell ; the cross line indicates its height. The rounded and more or less elevated apical portion is termed the Umbo, and anteriorly but below this is a depressed space, verj- conspicuous in some shells, called the Lunule ; on the other side is the elastic ligament. The lunule, umbo, and ligament are in- cluded within the dorsal or superior border ; the opposite edge is termed the ventral or inferior border. Fig. 28G0 is the same shell, its dorsal aspect dis- played, showing the lunule, the umbo, the ligament, and the thickness. Fig. 2861 exhibits the inside of the shell, showing the lunule, the umbo, the hinge, or cardo, and the ligament — the anterior muscular impression or mark of attachment — the posterior muscular impression, and the impression made by the edge of the mantle, or pallial impression. As specimens of monomyarian shells we refer to the prickly oyster (Spondylus), Fig. 2862, and to the cocU's-eomb oyster (Ostrea crista galli). Fig. 2863. The shell called Venus's Heart (Cardium caidissa), Fig. 2864. one of the cockle tribe, is dimyariiui. Shut up in their shells, these mollusks have but limited sources of animal enjoyment, and little com- munication with objects around them. They grow — they purify the waters of the sea— and afford food to various creatures tenanting the briny deep, to birds and quadrupeds haunting the shore, and to man. Their nervous system is very simple ; they have no organs of hearing, sight, or smell, yet would it seem that their whole surface is influenced and affected by light, by sounds or vibrations of the water, by oJours, and liquid stimulants. It is as- serted by fishermen that oysters in confined beds may be seen, if the water is clear, to close their shells whenever the shadow of a boat passes over them. Though we say that these mollusks have no organs of vision, we must not forget that certain brilliant specks have been detected in thepecten, or scallop, placed at short intervals round the thickened edge of the mantle, and these. Poll and some other natu- ralists regard as eyes ; if they be so, they are cer- tainly placed on the only part of the animal where their use could be available. In Spondylus similar specks have been observed. With respect to locomotion, these animals are very limited. Some, however, as the fresh-water mussel, are capable of raising themselves on the edge of their half-opened valves, and of urging themselves along, by the aid of a muscular organ called the foot; and in this way they proceed by successive impulses; and we have often watched the fresh-water mussel thus proceed in shallow clear water, leaving a long furrow in its track on the soft mud over which it pushed its course. Some, as the cockle, can leap a considerable height, and clear the gunwale of a boat, and also burrow in the sand by means of the same muscular instrument. Others, as the scallop, by opening and flapping together the valves, swim freely, with a rapi I de- sultory movement ; and on the shore effect a back- ward progression by the same action. Others again, as the pholas, perforate rocks and masses of chalk, in which they take" up their abode; and the teredo pierces its way into the hulls of ships, float- ing wood, the timbers of piers, of jetties, and of other works which have cost man labour and capital. On the other hand, many bivalve mollusks are firmly fixed to the rocks, or to other shells, by a calcareous exudation that cements their shell to the surface ; and, as in the oyster, clusters are often compacted into large beds or masses. Others attach themselves to the rocks by a cable or byssus, as the common mussel and the pinna : this cable consists of threads analogous to those formed by the silk- worm and other caterpillare, or by the spider. The threads exude, in a glutinous state, from a peculiar organ at the base of the foot; they are not spun by being drawn out, but are modelled, so to speak, by the foot itself. If we examine the foot of a mussel or of a pinna, we shall find a groove extending from its root to its apex ; the edges of this groove fold over, so as to form a minute canal. Along this canal runs the glutinous matter, gradually becoming tenacious. At the proper moment the animal pro- trudes its foot, and its tip attaches the end of the filament to the stone or rock. This done, it expands the tongue-like foot, so as to open the canal and free the filament from its sheath. The foot is then withdrawn, new matter is poured along the groove, and thus the operation is repeated till the cable is secure. It is said that the pinna is capable of producing only lour or five threads in twenty-four licurs; the exudation and hardening of these threads being a tedious process. Moored by their cable, these mollusks secure themselves against the tide and the rolling of the agitated waters. In Italy, gloves and other articles are manufac- tured from the threads of the pinna, for the purpose of being sold as curiosities. They may be seen in most museums. We must not omit to state that the views respect- ing the threads of the byssus which we have just detailed, and which are generally received, ditt'er materially from those of M. de Blainville. He does not regard the byssus as the result of secretion, but as an assemblage of muscular fibres, dried up in one part of their extent, but still contractile and in a living state at their origin, and that they were in this condition throughout their whole length at the time of their attachment to the rock. The tendinous feet of byssoarca and tridacna seem to be, as he conceives, a step towards the organization of a true byssus. In pursuing our observations on the bivalve mol- lusks, our remarks will be best understood if we take a given species as the subject of our notice. We select one with which all are larailiar, — viz. the oyster; time immemorial one of the delicacies of the table. The Greeks and Romans held these "shell-fish" in great estimation; those of the Dar- danelles, of Venice, of the Bay of Cumce, and of the coasts of Britain, were the most esteemed. But the Romans attached the greatest value to such as were brought from these places and deposited in the Lucrine Lake, where they grew very fat. Sergius Orata, at Baiae, was the first Roman who enter- tained the idea of modifying oysters into " natives" by placing them in artificial oyster-beds. If we take one of these shell-fish, and carefully open the valves of its shell, we shall observe a broad free-floating membrane, continued from the skin or solt integument. It appears in the form of two outer leaves, one lining each valve of the shell. These membranes, between which is the body of the mollusk, constitute the mantle, or pal- lium. Let us now turn back one of the leaves, or lobes, as they are often termed, of the mantle, and we shall .see two pairs of most delicale striated lamellae, consisting of parallel fibres: these, com- monly called the oyster's beard, are the gills, or branchiae.* Between these two pairs of branchiae, • Ilcncc M. de Blainville'i terra for Uie Conchiffra, vix. Lamclli- branvliiata. near the hinge, are slips or appendages, enclosing I he mouth. We shall see also a firm, extensive adductor muscle at the lower and outer side of the body ; and above this a mass, consisting of the liver and the viscera, the heart lying between the liver and the inner side of the adductor muscle, in a cavity or fissure, which is very ai)parent. Such are the external appearances presented by the oy.iter, in which no foot is developed, though it is slightly so in the scallop, and greatly in many bivalves, as the cockle, &c. The mouth is a simple orifice, bordered by four long lips, near the hinge of the shell, and opens almost immediately into the stomach, which, through several orifices, receives the bile secreted by the liver, a large mass of follicles loosely con- nected together by a delicate tissue, and constitwt- ing the epicurean morsel of this mollusk. The alimentary canal, proceeding from the stomach, winds through the liver, making a loop near the heart. In some mollusks its couree is more com- plex : in the cockle tribe, for instanee, it takes its course through the substance of the foot, and in others passes through the centre of the ventricle of the heart. We need not here repeat that the gills or bran- chiae are the aerating organs. In those creatures, however, they serve also for another and very im- portant purpose. It must strike every one who sees an oyster, and considers how inertly it lies attached to its native rock, or upon the bed whence it has been taken, that some special means of procuring food must be possessed, since the animal has neither the power of following its prey nor of seeing and seizing it ; and herein the branchiae fulfil a secondary but most essential office. The water flowing into the shell and traversing these branchiae contains abundance of animalcules and animal and vegetable particles, on which the oyster subsists. By the action of minute cilia, to be seen only by means of a microscope, by which the filaments of the bran- chiae are thickly covered, strong and incessant cur- rents are produced in the water, their course being directed to the mouth, and with them the nutritious particles on which the mollusk lives. The lips en- folding the mouth are endowed with a sense of dis- crimination, which rules them as to what particles to reject and what to receive; and thus a constant supply of food is obtained. The action of the cilia is incessant, and goes on when the shell is closed, agitating the water previously taken in. Nay, such is their " visvitiE," that even when a portion of the branchiae is cut away, they continue their move- ments on the detached piece so long as their vitality remains, and row it rapidly through the water, as if it had an independent existence. The branchial filaments, which are very apparent, are minute vessels running a parallel course, and exposing the blood to the water ; they are enveloped in delicate tissue, and, communicating with each other, ultimately merge into two principal trunks, conveying the renovated and purified blood to the auricular cavity of the heart, whence it passes through two canals to the ventricle, and is thence distributed, by means of innumerable arterial rami- fications, through the body. In some tribes there are two auricular cavities, one for each pair of bran- chiae ; and in Area there are two auricles and two ventricles distinct on opposite sides of the body. To the office and structure of the mantle we may now direct our attention. As in the gastropods, it is the shell secreting and depositing agent. In the oyster the free margins of the mantle are very limited, and are unconnected in any part of their circumference with each other; but in other tribes the mantle has its free edges more developed, and the two leaves are more or less completely united along their edges, so as to form an investing cover, in which the body lies shrouded. In the mussel, for instance, the edges of the man- tle are united with two orifices, one for the pro- trusion of the foot, the other at the posterior ex- tremity of the shell, forming a rudimentary siphon for the rejection of the egcsta. In others again, as the Charaidae, or clams, the circumference of the mantle is united, leaving three apertures, one for the protrusion of the foot, one for the entrance of water to the branchiao, and one for the escape of the egesta. In the Cardium, or cockle family, the mantle pro- longs itself posteriorly intoadouble tube, or siphon; and in the mactra this double siphon is very long, exIenJing beyond the shell. Sometimes these siphons are separate, sometimes conjoined. They are eminently contractile, and fringed with papillae of great sensibility. The uppersiphon is that through which the excrementitious matters are thio.vn otf, while the lower one is destined to convey water to the branchiae. The Siphoniferous Bivalves, with long tubes, are burrowing in their habits. By means of their foot they scoop out a retreat in the sand or mud, and hence it is that the manile is lengthened into a CONCHIFERA.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 255 double posteiior siphon, protruded from the mouth of tlieir burrow, for the purpose of respiratiou and the discharire of effete matter. Fiij. 28U5 represents the Cyclas Cornea : its large foot protruded, and two posterior siphons are very conspicuous. Fisr. 28G6 represents a common fresh-water she!!, the Uiiio pictorum. A, the anterior extremity of the shell ; P, the posterior extremity, with the two siphons or tubes ; H, the hinge ; F, Ihe foot. We have hitherto only alluded to the mantle of such Bivalves as when their shells are closed are completely shut up, no aperture being lelt, the valves tlierefore requiring to be opened for the protrusion of the siphon. But there is a group called ' Les Enfermes'by Cuvier, because the moIlusUsare com- pletely enclosed in their nrsntie, wliile the valves remain open, from their shape, at each extremity. Such are the Soien, or Razor-stiell, the Pholas, and others. The sliell of the Solen is long and cylindri- cal, and open at both ends: the siphcn, or double tube, is protruded from the posterior orifice, and the foot from the anterior, near to which, on the back edge of the valves, interiorly, are two or three tooth-like projections, fitting into each other. The rapidity with which the Solen or Razor-shell, called by the French manche de couteau, or knife-handle, can bury itself in the sand is very remarkable. Its foot is the instrument employed for this purpose, and the depth the creature penetrates is often several feet, baffling all endeavours to capture it. In the rock-boring Pholas the two valves of the shell are convex, broad anteriorly, becoming narrow posteriorly. A large oblique fissure is left at each extremity. Through the anterior fissure the foot is protruded ; the double tube through the other. In the Teredo the mantle is produced into asiphon, much longer than the two small rhomboidal valves ; and this tube is always so placed, while the animal is boring its way, as to have free access to the water. We have already said that it is ths mantle which secretes the shell. The latter, as we know, consists of carbonate of lime, cemented together by a viscid animal matter, which dries, the whole becoming hard and solid. Now, if we examine the mantle, say of a muscle, ■vihieh we shall find lining the shells, and enwrapping the body, we shall find its margins considerably thickened, and adherent to the edge of each valve. In the oyster they are quite free, but still thick- ened ; and this thickened edge is glandular, and often, as in the scallop, furnished with a delicate fringe of sensitive tentacles. In many instances it is seen to contain certain patches of different colours, corresponding both in tint and relative position with those presented upon the surface of the shell. These coloured patches are glandular, and owe their colouring to tlie pigment they themselves secrete. Now, in order to increase the dimensions of the shell, ifie margins of the mantle are protruded, each being firmly adherent to the circumference of the respective valve which it lines. The margin then pours out the mixture of gluten and lime, depositing it on the edge of the shell, when it hardens, and remains fixed. At intervals this- process is repeated, and every newly formed layer enlarges the extent of the valve. The concentric strata, thus deposited, remain distinguishable externally, marking the pro- gress of increase by these lines of successive addi- tions. At certain times the deposition of shelly matter is more abundant than at others ; and the size and distance of the ridges denote this circumstance. Sometimes at such periodical epochs the mantle shoots out, by a sudden development, beyond its usual extent, depositing broad raised plates, or spines, which remain permanent, the mantle retiring to its ordinary state : another epoch comes, and a fresh plate, or row of spines, is added, and so on, with intervals, marking the successive developments of the mantle, produced by the periodical stimulus to increased action. While the shell-secreting glands pour out their produce, the colour-glands pour out their pigment, mixing it with the yet viscid matter composing the shell, which it tinges. When this secretion of colour- ing matter is kept up uninterruptedly, the tinted marks or lines of the shell will be unbroken ; but if the secretion be poured out at intervals, the mark- ings will be broken, and spots, dashes, and other ornamental stains will be the result; and these will be larger and bolder as the shell increases in growth. We have said that a viscid secretion is mixed with the carbonate of lime in shells: if, as is the case in some species, this viscid fluid is in more than sufficient abundance to set the fime, it forms on the surface a sort of parchment-like tissue, or a horny layer, generally known under the name of Epidermis. In some species this layer is thick, — in some it becomes loose, fibrous, and shaggy, like coarse hairs, or the fibrous investment of a cocoa- nut. Shells are lined, as we know, with a smooth, glossy, and often iridescent coating, called mother of pearl, or nacre. The deposit of this in sou.e species is very abundant, giving great thickness and solidity to the shell. This nacre is secreted by the external surface of the mouth, not by its fringed and thickened edge. It is, in fact, added as a smuoth coating after the hardening of the shell, and constantly added to as the valves increase. Pearls, we need scarcely repeat, are nothing but nacre : they are the products of the mantle under certain circumstances. Local irritation of various kinds will cause their formation : minute grains of sand, conveyed by accident between the valves, and sticking to the mantle, often form the nuclei of pearls. They become covered with concentric layers of nacre, which soon increase, forming detached glob- ular pearls. Many of the minute boring annelids perforate shells, when the mantle, by way of block- ing them out, secretes under the effects of the stimu- lus an unusual and irregular abundance of nacre, which, enlarged by successive layers, forms pearls adherent by a wider or narrower base to the interior of the valve. Linnaeus stated that he possessed the art of procuring pearls at pleasure by drilling a small hole in the shells, and then introducing through it a grain of sand, or the like. We have stated that the valves of these mollusks are closed by means of a muscle or muscles, which counteract by their contraction the elastic spring of the hinge. Now on a little consideration it will be plain that, as the shell increases by the addition of matter to the vential edge, the position of the adductor muscle or muscles must gradually change in order to maintain their relative place to the circumference of the shell. They must in fact maintain the same situation in the adult as in the young. In the oyster, for example, it is quite ob- vious that the adductor muscle, which was connected with the thin and minute lamellfB forming the first shell, has duiing its growth become farther re- moved from the hinge, and transferred moreover from layer to layer of nacre, as the shell increased in thickness, and its circumference enlarged. The question arises, how does this muscle, which we find so firmly adherent to the nacre lining the valves, become thus altered in its position? It must then first be premised that there is a thin layer of the mantle interposed between the muscle and the shell, so that in fact the muscle is not extra- palliate ; and this thin part of the mantle increases the nacre, which adds to the thickness of the shell, as much under the extremities of the muscle, as the rest of the surface of the mantle does elsewheie. Here then we have a clue to the gradual shifting of the muscle. Particle after paificle is laid on be- tween the muscle and the shell, whilst the rest of the mantle is adding equally to the general surface of the valves, so that a new layer has formed, extend- ing farther than the previous layer, to meet the in- crease of the shell; and thus is the adhesion of the muscle imperceplibly transferred to a new surface of nacre, and at the same time advanced forwards; and thus, during the growth of the shell and niol- lusk, is this operation insensibly but gradually tak- ing place : so that, if we were to peel off the nacre in layers, we should find the muscle-mark in a more and more backward position as layer after layer was removed. In short, the growth of the shell and the addition of a fresh and more extensive layer of nacre are more or less consentaneous, and each increased layer of the latter will carry the muscle forward, so that it will always retain its due relative position. The bivalve mollusks are most probably all bi- sexual. The eggs in many are not abandoned at the time of their exclusion, but are deposited be- tween the membranes of the branchial laminae, ex- posed to the ciliary currents of water, where they undergo a sort of incubation. In some in fact the shell is developed before they quit this receptacle. Sir Anthony Carlisle says, "Oysters are viviparous, and the young are found within the tracheal (bran- chial) passages, and between the folds of the cover- let (mantle) during the months of June and July in this climate. In its first state the oyster exhibits two semi-orbicular films of transparent shell which are continually opening and closing at intervals. The whole brood are associated together by being involved in a viscid slime, and in that state called spat, it being common among viviparous animals of this kind to have their spawn posited in contact with the lungs (branchiae) ; the involving slime serves as the first nwtriment, and we may infer that the food so influenced by the gills (branchiae) is at the same time a respiratory supply to the imperfectly formed young." The breeding months of the oyster are May, June, and July, and during this season they are unfit for food. When the sp(U is ripe for being deposited, it becomes attached to stones, rocks, shells, &c., and myriads of young become developed at the same time, forming immense beds, for the supply of man. It is, however, from artificial rather than from natural beds that the vast quantities are obtained which supply our markets. Biood or young oysters of small size are collected and transplanted into favourable spots, which are strictly protected, and become a productive source of profit both to the dredgers and the public. In parts of the coast where no particular rights exist, the beds become much thinned, and the brood is often carried away and planted in beds under protection, where they multiply in abundance. Newly formed beds are generally kept untouched for two or three years, to allow for the growth of the young. Of the age at- tained by the oyster little is known ; some suppose it to be about ten years. In three days after the spawn is deposited, the young oysters are enclosed in a shell three lines broad ; in six months the shell is nearly as large as a half-crown piece ; at the end of a year it equals a dollar. After a certain period the mollusk ceases to grow, the shell is large in proportion to the bulk of tbe animal, which becomes thin, gradually diminishes in size, and is unfit for food. Oysters, when put to fatten into small pits in the saline marshes, as we have seen along the Swale, with the water about three feet deep and abounding with marine vegetable matter and animalcules, assume a green tinge in three or four days, and are excellent. The oysters taken at Dieppe are of a greenish hue. In Spain they have a reddish tinge. The most celebrated beds for native oysters are those at Milton in Kent, at Colchester, Maldon, Feversham, and Queensborough. Those in the Swale and Medway are in high repute. In Scot- land the beds in the Frith of Forth and in Mussel- burgh Bay afford good oysters. In France the oysters from Brittany have been long famous ; those from Dieppe are very excellent, but the oysters ob- tained near Cancalle, a town not far from St. Malo, have the highest reputation. From the Swale and from Rochester and Colchester vast numbers of oysters are exported to Holland and Germany. From the island of Jersey 200,000 bushels are annu- ally exported, and 2rj0 boats, 1500 men, and 1000 women and children are employed in the season. Dredging for oysters is carried on generally in fleets, as the beds lie within a comparatively small space. The boats are about fifteen feet long, and usually carry two men and a boy. The dredge is about eighteen pounds' weight, 'but it is requiied to be heavier on a hard than a soft bottom-. Each boat; is provided with two dredges ; but the fishermea complain that in the early part of the season too great a number of dredges, and those of too heavy a kind, are used, which injure the beds, so that the latter part of the season is rendered less profitable than tFie commencement. A fleet of oyster-boats putting out early in the morning, crossing and intersecting each other's course as they advance to the fishing-ground, their white sails glancing in the sun, and anon as the boats tack about becoming shadowed, and again brightly glancing, is a most interesting spectacle. Such a scene is represented at Fig. 28G7. Fig. 28C8 represents an oyster-dredger in his usual dress, casting the dredge over the gunwale of his boat. I From this introduction we may advance to the consideration of our pictorial specimens, of which , we first select those belonging to the scallop and oyster family. MONOMYARIA. Family PECTINID^ (Scallops, Oysters). The shells of bivalves have what is termed a right and a left valve ; and which is the right and whict* the left valve may be generally determined by placing the shell on its edge with the anterior part, denoted by the umbo and lunule, forwards, and the hinge and ligament next the observer.* We notice this because M. de Blainville divides the Pectens ■ into four groups : first, into those specimens which are very inequivalve, the left valve being very flat, as in the common scallop; secondly, into equivalve species ; thirdly, into species in which the two valves are nearly equally concave, hut the right rather the least; and, fourthly, into such as have striae paialiel to their border. Mr. Sovverby makes five divisions. Now in the Pecten, from the situation of the umbo and the characters and place of the hinge, the right and left sides can only be determined by the position of the animal. The genus Pecten is thus characterized by M. Deshayes. Mollusk subrotund, not thick ; lobes of the mantle very delicate, disunited throughout, thickened on the borders, and furnished with many rows of fleshy cilia, between which are regularly * Many reverse this, and call the liinule portion of the stiell th« posterior, and the !on{,' p:irt, with tlie hinye, and with the siphons o* the mollusk, the anterior part ; indeed, Mr. G. IJ. Sowerby states ttiis to lie the general plan : if so, it is contrary to common sense ; much confusion and contradiction, however, accrue from it, as it reverses tlie valves, and makes wliat oii^ht to be called tlie left the right, and vice ven,a. In our views it is the right valve of the oyster that is the convex one, the left tile flat one. " II I'aul se souvenir (dit Cuvier) que lo ligament fde la chaniijre) eJt toujours du cote postcrieur de» sommets' tumbones). MS9. -St. JaiDCt's Cocl^le. S67S.— OrbicuUr Sullop. 88T4, — Squamous I.im^ OiTl. -Gibbous Scallop. 2875.— Spondyloid l^um. 2870.— Fl(mntierSc.«Uop. k873.— Sinuous Ilttiiiites. £876.— Incurvoil Grj-phxa. 256 281".— Conical Exogyn. 2879.— CluneseWindow Oyster. SSTf/— CockVcomb Oyster. 2882.— Bony Appendage of Anomia. 0 2883.— Anomia Sqnamata. 2869.— Cnming*8 Placnnanomia. 2«8I .-Saddle Anomia. No. 83. Vol. II. [thb museum of animated NATUKE.] 257 258 disposfJ series of smooth oculiform tubercles; braiictuai large, decomi)oaed into detached tilaracnts. The loot sinail and dilated at its extremity ; mouth rather laree, and oval, surrounded by projecting and deeply-cut lips, and furnished on eacli side with a p.^ir of triangular palps, tnmcated at their extremity. The shell is f.ee, legular, and auiiculated ; umbones contiguous; hinge toothless; the cardinal pit en- tirely internal, and receiving the ligament. The auricles or eailets of the shell are those projections on each side of the umbo, extending some distance downwards. . Mr. Garner, in his paper on the Ijimpllibrancliiata ('Trans. Zoo). Soc.,' vol. ii.), considers the foot of IVcten to be an organ for the prehension of food collected by the vibratile currents near the mouth : it has but one slender muscle. In one of the figures accompanying his paper he delineates one of the eye specks on the edge of the mantle, with its optic nerve, magnilied. Speaking of the Laraellibranchiata generally, he observes, that those species which, like the common mussel, are exposed to the action of the sun and air 0:1 the bare rocks, have the valves tilting to each other most exactly— preventing all evaporation ; but when the valves are open at any part, the animal either inhabits deep water, as many species of Pecten. or has the power of burrowing in the mud or sand when lell dry by the ebb of the tide. The scallops, as we have said, move rapidly back- wards in an undating manner by flapping their valves. Several species abound in our seas, and some are considered as delicacies. The common scallop, or St. .James's cockle (Pecten .Tacobieus), when well treated by a good cook, is said to make a rich and excellent dish. When so prepared, these shell-fish are termed " Quins," in allusion to the great tragedian and epicure, whose judgment in the ilelicacies of the table was unquestioned. The shells of some species of Pecten are thick and heavv, others again have the shell very light, and some', as the Peeten vitreus (Gray), from the Arctic Circle,* as transparent as glass. The determination of the species, in many instances, is not easy. Some are most beautifully coloured, but in others the tints are sombre and unvariegated. 2803. —The Common Scallop, or St. James's Cockle {Pecten Jacobaeus). This shell, the well-known badge of tlie pilgiimfrom the Holy Land, is common in the seas of Europe and along our southern coasts. Tne shell is unequivalve— the upper or left valve being tlat, the under or right valve concave internally. Each valve has from fourteen to sixteen angulated rays; those of the lower valve are sulcated longitu- dinally. It occure in a fossil state in tertiary de- posits in Italy. 2870. — ^The Flounder Scallop (Pecten pleuronectes). This species is a native of the Indian seas, and has its name from the circum- stance of the upper valve being of a rich reddish- brown, while the lower one is white — being thus bi- coloured, like a flat-fish. The shell is subequivalve, rather thin, smooth externally, somewhat convex on both sides. 2871.— The Gibbois Scallop (Perten giblwsus). The shell of this species is sub- equivalve, ventricose, and red ; with from twenty to twenty-two convex rays, somewhat rugose at their sides and at the interstices. It is a native of the Atlantic and American oceans. 2872. — The Oebiculak Scallop (Pecten orbicularis). This species occurs only in a fossil state, and is found in the chalk and other for- mations in England and France. If is suboibicular, with one valve smooth, the other marked with trans- verse concentric striae. The fossil species of Pecten are veiy numerous, as are those now existing. Of the latter, M. Dcs- hayes enumerates thirteen as occurring also in a fossil condition in tertiary strata. Fossil species are found in the chalk, the oolite, and other ancient de- posits. Closely allied to tlie genus Pecten is that termed Hinnites. Though most naturalists assert that there is no byssus in this genus by means of which the animal moves itself to stones, Mr. Sowciby de- cidedly asserts the existence of this natuial cable; and though, from the singular manner in which the shell becomes pressed to and takes the shape of the substances to wliich it is pressed, its adhesion by means of the valves is only apparent ; its real attach- ment being by a byssus, and not by cement uniting the shell to the rock. • An allipd tpeciM, Petflen vitrens of KiniJ'.not fJrty, was found •verj where in the Strait of Maifellao, atUched to the fronds of Uie Kiicoa gii^uti'Ui, and formed (rent put of tlic food of the Steamer- Dttclt. MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ghypii.ea. 2873.— TnE Sisrocs Hissites j {Hinnites sinuosus). As an example of this genus we give this species, the Pecten pusio of authors, common in our British seas. The shell is ovate, unequally sinuous, variegated with brownish orange and white, and marked with numerous very narrow reys like striw. ... A 8malk|umber only of living species belonging to this gelw is known; and four or five fossil spe- cies are found in some of the tertiary bed» of Franq^ and Italy. Our next irpecimen belongs to the genus Lima. In this genus the animal is oval, having the lobes of the mantle separated nearly throughout their ex- tent, larger than the valves of the shell, and turned inwards ; this part of the border is wide, and fur- nished throughout its extent with numerous tenta- cular elongated and annulated cirrhi. Branchia; rather large, equal, and separated (fcartees); foot cylindrical, vermiform, rather club-shaped, and ter- minating in a small sucker (ventouse), by means of which the animal can fix itself to submarine bodies ; no byssus; buccal aperture oval, furnished with large' foliaceou^Bfcs, terminated on each side by triangular and oBIiquely truncated labiij palps.— (Deshayes.) Shell longitudinal, subequivalve, auii- culated, rather gaping on one side of the valves; umbones distant (ecartfes); their internal facets in- cline inwards. Hinge toothless. Cardinal pit partly external, receiving the ligament. In the .species of the genus Lima the foot has a particular form. It is elongated, narrow, cylindrical, and rather thickened at its free extremity, where it terminates in a sort of sucker, which, according to the observations of M. Quoy, serves to fix the aninia^ upon solid bodies even of the most smooth surface. The mouth is placed between two lips comparable to those of Pinna : they are foliaceous, descend upon the lateral parts of the body, and terminate on each side in a pair of labial palps, which are truncated and trianeular. The bianchise are rather large and equal. The adductor muscle seems more extensible than in the greater part of the mollusks of the same class. When it is not contracted, the valves are widely opened, and the animal has the power of im- pressing on it frequent and sudden contractions, the rapidity of which is facihtated by the extreme elas- ticity of the ligament of the valves. By means of these reiterated contractions the animal can flutter in the water, to use the happy expression of M. Quoy, and one must run after it to catch it among the corals or in the shallows where it dwells. Though the species are not numerous, the form is widely spread, and is generally found in the seas of warm and temperate climates. A few are natives of the British seas. 2874. — The Squamose Lima (Lima squamosa). This species is a native of the seas of America. The shell is oval and depressed ; the hinge is oblique; the margin crenated: it ap- pears as if clipped anteriorly. Colour white. The ribsare squamous, rough, anti file-like. M. Deshayes enumerates thirteen fossil species in tertiary beds. One species is found in the inferior oolite. Another genus, belonging to the section em- bracing the true Pectens, is that termed by Lamarck Pedum. The mollusk of Pedum is thus charac- terized by M. Deshayes :— Animal oval, oblong, flattened, having the lobes of the mantle open throughout their circumference, thickened on their edges, and furnished on this part with many rows of tentacular ciirlii, and, at regular distances, tubercles with smooth surfaces. A pair of large branchiae descending on each side to the edge of the lower border of the mantle ; abdominal mass small, having anteriorly and high up a small vcrniifoim foot, and at its base a silky byssus of some size ; mouth oval, having on each side a pair of labial liiangular palps. (Deshayes.) With respect to the shell, Lamarck gives the fol- lowing characters :— Shell incquivalve, subauricu- late, lower valve gaping ; umbones unequal and distant. Hinge toothless ; ligament partly external, inserted in an elongated canalilbrm pit, which is Allowed out in the internal wall of the umbones. Lower valve notched near its posterior base. (Lam.) 2875. — The Spondtloid Pedum (Pedum spondyhtdcuvi). This is the only species, we believe, at present known belonging to the genus Pedum. It is described and figured by MM. Quoy and Gaimard in the 'Zoology of the Voyage of the Astrolabe.' It is a native of the Indian seas, the coasts of the Isle of Fiance, and of the island of Vanikoro, where the French nHturalists observed it in great numbers, living partially encased in madre- pores, such as Astraca;, &c. M. Quoy is of opinion that the animal is capable of hollowing out excava- tions in the blocks of madrepore, in which to take up its residence ; and he found young and adult in- dividuals tenanted holes proportionate to their re- spective sixes. M. Deshayes, indeed, seems to doubt this burrowing power, antI suggests that the animal having first attached itself to the coral, its shell gradually becomes enveloped by the growth of the coral. Granting, however, this to be the case, still the young shell, which is enveloped, and inhabits a cavity proportionate to its size, must have the means of enlarging it according to its own increase ot growth. The colour of the shell is whitish, tinged with red ; the lower valve is the largest, with the lateral edges turned up, and raised above those of the superior valve ; the bys.sus pajises out through tlK deep notch below the hinge of the lower shell. ^Ve now come to the section of the Pectinic'a; known as oysters, under which range several genera, some of which, as Grypha'a, are found principally in a fossil state, others, as Exogyra, only so. Between the genus Giypha-a and Ostrea there is an insensible passage, so that in a large series of species and varieties it would be impossible to draw the line between the two genera. In both, the lower valve is always the largest; in both, the hinge and muscular impression are similar ; in both, the shells during the period of youth are fixed tor a longer or shorter period, becoming free as they advance in age ; and even the involute curvature of the umbo of Gryphapa, perhaps the strongest point of distinction, is not constant in every species. Hence M. Deshayes woidd abolish the genus alto- gether, and with these views Mr. G. B. Sowerby coin- cides. Provisionally retaining Gryphaea, we may observe, that while the living species amount, we believe, to only one (G. angulata), the fossil species are veiy numerous, and are found in almost all strata down to the lias inclusive. 287(J. — The Iscvrved Gbiphjea (Gryphcca incurca). This fossil species is from the lias. In his last edition of Lamarck, M. Deshayes enumerates thirty-four fossils which Lamarck would assign to this form. W hatever doubt there maybe about retaining the genus Gryp'nsea, none exists with respect to the untenahlenessof the genus Exogyra as distinct from Ostrea. It possesses in fact no distinguishing charac- ters at all ; although that eminent geologist Von Buch regards it as clearly and decidedly separate. The genus Exogyra was proposed by Say for such species of Gryphaea as have the umbo taking a lateral direction, instead of rising above the valves, with a tendency to a dorsal angle, at least in some species. The latter character therefore is by no means constant; and with respect to the former, many oysters exhibit the same tournure of the umbo, though perhaps not carried out to the same extent. We have already stated that all the species attri- buted to this genus are fossil. 2877. — The Cosic.vl Exoqtba (Exogyra conica). The example selected occurs in the upper green-sand, gault, and lower green-sand. We now turn to the genus Ostrea, namely, that of which the common oyster (ostrea edulis) is an ex- ample. This genus is divided by many writers into two groups: 1. True oystei-s, with simple or undulated, but not plaited valves ; 2. True oystei-s, with the borders of their valves distinctly plaited. To the first group belong the common oyster and between thirty and forty living species, distributed through various seas, principally in warm and temperate latitudes ; no species appear to have been discovered in the Polar Ocean. In the hotter climates they abound, in sestuaries and along the coast ; and are often found attached to rocks and even to trees which border the water. In thisstrange situation is taken the mangrove oyster of the West Indies, so highly prized for its delicious flavour, and in company with it a species of Pcrna, which is ac- counted even still more excellent. An old traveller, one William Davies, who quitted I'lngland on the 28th of January, 1597, is ridiculed by ah anonymous writer in the ' New Monthly Magazine ' for 18C1), for asserting that he had seen oysters and mussels grow- ing upon trees, and eaten them ; as did also Obwer Noore, a Dutchman (1GC5), in Guinea. The same writer ridicules the idea of crabs feeding on the fruit of trees ; yet oysters are found adhering to trees, and there are tree-crabs (Birgus Latro) which feed on the fiuit — consequently such ridicule proves only that the writer's information in natural history was very limited. 2878.— The Cock's-Comb Ovstee ( Ostrea Crista-Galli). This remarkable species is an example of the second group, which contains more than thirty recent species. It is a native of the Indian seas. The shell varies in foun according to the shape of the body to which it adheres, but is generally somewliat rounded and very much plaited, the plaits being longitudinal and angular. Exteraally the colour is violet, purplish, or reddish white. Spondylid^.J MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 259 The fossil species of the genus Ostrea are very numerous; they occur as low iu the series of strata as the lias limestone, inclusive : M. Deshayes, in his last edition of Lamarck, gives the number as eighty-two. From the genus Ostrea we advance to the genus Piacuna, of which those large diaphanous and almost circular shells to be observed in most col- lections are examples. The genus Piacuna presents the following cha- racters:— The shell, which is very much flattened, is of a regular figure, and not adherent to other bodies. The valves are almost translucid, quite so in some species, and nearly equal ; the hinge is internal, and offers on one valve two lon>;itudinal rib-like elevations converging at the summit, and on the other two corresponding furrows for the attachment of the ligament. The muscular im- pression is nearly centrical and rather small. The mollusk does not appear to be known. Three living species are recorded, and one fossil, in ter- tiary deposits. The living species inhabit the Indian and Red Sea^. 2879. — The Chinese-Window Oyster (Piacuna Placenta). The valves of this shell are sufficiently transparent to admit light; they are suborbicular, flat, and white, with longitudinal decussate striiF. It inhabits the Indian Seas, and is taken on sandy bottoms. In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc' for 1832, p. 28, Mr. Bro'.lcrip characterizes a genus which he terms Placunanomia, forming, as its name indicates, an intermediate link between Piacuna and Anomia. The generic characters are detailed as follows: — Shell adherent, subequivalve, irregular, flattened, plaited towards the margin, vitreous internally. Hinge internal, with two elongated, thick, sub- curved, divaricated teeth converging at the base in the lower valve, and two ligamentiferous furrows opposite in the upper valve. Lower valve super- ficially fissured externally towards the hinge, the siibosseous organ of adhesion inserted between the laminae of the shell and filling the fissure exter- nally. Muscular impression in each valve sub- central. In the upper valve the impression of the organ of adhesion is superadded. (Uroderip.) The learned founder of the genus follows up these characters, with the annexed observations : — " This interesting genus partakes of the characters of the genera Ostrea, Plicatula, Piacuna, and ■ Anomia. It may be regarded as the connecting link between the two latter. With an arrangement of the hinge approaching very nearly to that of Piacuna, it has the distinguishing organization of Anomia, while the external appearance of the shell, especially if viewed in situ, bears the strongest resemblance to Plicatula or some of the plicated oysters. The organ of adhesion, which in its bony character (for it is more bony than shelly) resembles that of Anomia, does not perforate the lower valve directly, but is inserted between the laminae of the internal surface of the lower valve, above the mus- cular impression and below the hinge, and passes out into an external, irregular, somewhat longitudinal superficial fissure or cicatrix, which is narrowest at the hinge margin, and which it entirely fills to a level with the surrounding surface of the shell." (Broderip, ' Zool. Proc' February, 1832.) The PlacunanomiiE appear to be widely distri- buted ; they inhabit the seas of warm climates in both hemispheres. Mr. Broderip has described four (' Zool. Proc' and Miiller's 'Synopsis') brought to this country by Mr. Cuming, from the West Indies, Central America, and other western localities. They were dredged from sandy mud and muddy bottoms, adhering to bivalve shells, dead and living, and dead coral, at depths of six, eleven, and seven- teen fathoms ; of these, Piacuna echinata wears something of the appearance of the shoit-spined Spondyii. Besides the species above alluded to, Mr. Broderip slates that Mr. Sowerby furnished him with an odd valve of a large species from Luconia, which was beautifully iridescent internally; but as it was believed that this was identical with the fine shell sold by him to the British Museum, Mr. Broderip left the des;'.ription of it to the ofiicers of that establishment. Mr. Sowerby had some other odd valves, which Mr. Broderip thought might prove new, and the latter possessed two or three specimens adhering to Spondyl'i, from an unknown ji locality; but they appeared to be young, and j though he was inclined to think that there was a I new species among them, he deemed it prudent to wait lor further information. M. Deshayes remarks that this genus establishes the passage between Piacuna and Anomia, and that it shows that the V-shaped tooth of Piacuna is only an extreme modification of the large callosity of the Anomiae ; he adds that a fossil shell found in ^S)P'' ^nfJ which has been taken for a Piacuna, Vol II. is a new step, as regards the hinge, between the Anomiae and Piacunie. 2880. — Cuming's Placunanomia (Plactmanomia Ciimiiujil, Broder.). In this species the shell is somewhat rounded, and the margin is plaited ; the figure flattened ; the general colour is white obscurely silvered. Length two and a half [ers. America Inches ; height two inches and three-tju«|( It is ^lative of JLlie shores of CemRH (the GulW)f Dulce, province of Costa Rica), and was dredged up by Mr. Cuming at the depth of eleven fathoms, attached to dead bivalve^Bfclls and dead coral. Referring to Fig. 2880, a exhibits the internal appearance of the organ of adhesion ; h, the same seen externally. We now turn to the genus Anomia. In this genus the mollusk is very compressed in form, and has the edges of the delicate mantle fringed with a row of tentacular filaments. The foot is rudimentary. The adductor muscle is divided into three branches, and the largest of these passes hy a notch in the lower valy*, an^-becomes attached to an opercular stony or corn^fl^ piece, which is fixed to marine substances, as ^ffk or dead shells ; in this singular manner is the anomia moored. The shell thus attached by its opercular piece, is inequivalve, irregular in outline, delicate, and olten translucent. The fixed valve is the most flattened, having a round or oblong notch near the umbo, through which passes the muscular slip crowned with its opercular apex; the other valve is larger and more convex. The hinge-ligament is short and : thick. The muscular impression is divided into ikthree portions. ^ The Anomiae occur in the European seas and the ;; Atlantic ocean : M. Deshayes in his tables records ji ten living species — eight species in tertiary forma- tions, and two species found both in a recent and fossil state. It, is one of the latter that we select for our example. 2881. — TuE Saddle .\nomia {Anomia Ephippium). This species is of large size ; it is found in the British Channel, the Mediterra- nean, and the Atlantic Ocean, a represents the shell with the valves closed ; b, the shell open to show the hinge ; c, the hinge of the attached valve without the bony appendage. Fig. 2882 shows the bony appendage of Anomia Ephippium : a, the bony part that goes through the opening of the shell ; h, the surface which is at- tached to external objects. Fig. 2883 represents a species termed by M. de Blainville Anomia squamata, which has not this ad- ditional bony appendage, and which he says is at- tached to objects by the valve itself. Mr. Sowerby supposes it to be the Anomia Ephippium in a very young state, before the appendage is ossified. Family SPONDYLID.E (SPINY OYSTERS, WATER-CLAM, &c.). According to M. Deshayes, the family Spondylidae contains two genera, viz., Spondylus, into which he merges Podopsis, Dianchora, and Pachytes ; and Plicatula, which indeed stands only on uncertain grounds, agreeing with Spondylus in all essential characteristics. In the Spondyii there are auricles, or angular processes, on each side of the hinge ; and the umbo of the great valve is produced into a pro- jection having a flattened surface divided by a fur- row in which the old traces of the ligament may be perceived : on the contrary, in Plicatula the auiicles rarely exist, and where they appear, are small, and there is no projection (talon) of the umbo ; yet do the two genera merge insensibly into each other, for in some species of Spondylus the talon is trifling and without furrow, and the ligament is entirely concealed, as in Plicatula; while, per contra, in some species of Plicatula there i^n approximation in the development of the umbo to that of Spondy- lus. Plicatula must in fact be regarded only as a convenient subgenus of Spondylus In the genus Spondylus the characters may be summed up as follows: ^ Shell unequivalve, adhering fo external obje«||^ auriculated, beset with spines or rough ; the um- bones unequal ; the lower valve offers an external cardinal (caido, ahinge) facet, which is flattened and divided by a furrow, and which increases with age. | Hinge furnished with two strong teeth in each valve, i with an intermediate fosset for the ligament, com- ! municated by its base with the external furrow. The ligament is external, and its old and useless re- mains show themselves externally in the furrow. j The mollusk is rounded or oval, its thickness ! varying in the different species. The two lobes or ' laminae of the mantle are disunited at their edges, ' excepting along the short extent of the dorsal bor- der corresponding to the hinge; their margin is , thick and furnished with several rows of long fleshy ' cilia, between which and on the internal border i may be observed a certain number of cilia at irre- gular distances, truncated as it were in the middle, and terminated by a smooth, convex, coloured sur- face, calling to mind the ocular surface of the ten- tacles in the snail. The branchiae resemble those of the Pectens. The adductor muscle is large and circular. The mouth is situated at the anterior commissure of the mantle, and surrounded with a large slashed lip, fringed on the edge and accom- panied on each side by a pair of palps, but little elongated, in the form of myrtle-leaves. At the anterior ])ait of the animal is seated a pe- culiar orj^an : it consists of a disc supported by a short pedicle ; from the centre of this disc emerges a cylindrical tendon, terminated bya small, oviform, fleshy mass. This is evidently a modification of the foot, which, as it is not needed in the fixed Spondy- lus as a locomotive organ for the purpose of chang- ing the place of the animal, is probably rendered subservient to the direction of the ciliaiy currents charged with food to the mouth. Cuvier says the Spondyii are eaten like oyster* ; their shells are often tinged with lively colours. They are inhabitants of the Mediterranean and the warmer seas, and are found attached to corals, rocks, dead shells, &c., at depths varying from the surface to seventeen fathoms. Several splendid species are natives of the intertropics. An eminent conchologist, whose means of observation have been very extensive, makes the following interesting re- marks : he says, every one must have noticed the spines with v^■hich the Spondyii are armed, and which in some instances are very long, bristling out on every side from the upper valve. "The lower valve is attached and adheres to submerged bodies by means of foliations. If the whole lower surface adheres, as it often does, not a spine is given out from the lower valve ; but where the adhesion takes effect towards the anterior part of the lower valve only, as is frequently the case, especially when the shell is affixed among the branches of corals, a fa- vourite locality with some species, the foliations are confined merely to that part where adhesion is re- quired, and the rest or free pait of the valve is as profuse of spines as the upper valve itself. There are two points to be gained— support or adhesion, and defence. The first is of primary importance; and as soon as that is siife, all the resources of the animal seemed to be turned towards the offensive and de- fensive armour. Those fishes which browse among the corals are thus deterred from injuring the living fixture which has there taken up its abode. A very fine series of specimens was collected with a view to this habit, and they sliowed not only the power which the animal had, of secreting the proper pro- cess of shell, according to the circumstances re- quired, but of modifying the secretion according to the exigencies of the occasion." 2884. — The Ducal Spoxdti.us {Spondi/liis ducalis). In this example of the present genus the internal surface of the valve is dis- played, showing the hinge, ligament, muscular im- pression, &c. : a, the upjicr valve ; b, the lower. 2885. — The American Spondylls, or SPINV OvSThR {Spondylus Americamis) . In this example the valves are closed, with tlie umbones towards the spectator. Fig. 2886 represents a section of the large spon- dylus, or Waterclam (Spondylus varius, Brod.), the valves of which are remarkable for the nacreous layers forming a series of hollow chambers or reservoirs, filled, many of them, with fluid. In young shells these chambers are not formed, but only in those of an advanced period of growth. The water can not only be heard trickling as the position of the shell is changed, but distinctly seen through the last transparent nacreous layer, foiming the immediate bed of the mollusk. On this camerated structure a valuable paper by Professor Owen, will be found in the "Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1837, p. 63, et seq. The following is part of that communication : — " In order to examine this camerated structure, and more especially to see how it was modified by the presence and progressive change of place of the adductor muscle, I had a fine specimen sawn through vertically and lengthwise. The specimen in question measures eight inches in length ; and the substance of the concave valve, which is two inches one-third in thickness at the thickest part, includes fourteen chambers, separated from each other by very regu- larly formed and stout partitions, composed, as in other chambered shells, of the nacreous portion or constituent of the shell. The septa (or divisions) are slightly undulating in their course, but present a gradual concavity towards the outlet of the shell. Not any of these partitions, however, are continued freely across the shell ; — but each becomes con- tinuous at the muscular impression, which is near the middle of the shell, willi the contiguous septa, 2 L 2 SHlv— Dueal Spondylui. M90.— VaUella llnjuUta. t886.— Section of Water Spondylus. 888*.— PoHidonia. 2887. — PUcatula. S891.— CtenatuU aficuloldes. I8W*~I)>*<"='""'^ stiiata. «i4a.— American Spiny Oyjtet. S392. — Perna I^ognomura. 2G0 28?3.— Ilammer-hcaded Oyster. :^mi^ SS94. — Inoceramiu salcatus. 8897.— GerviUia aviculoides. >m' 2898.— GeiviUU >alenoide>. 2839.— Broad-winged Avicule. SSOo.-CatUlMCuTicri. 29s0.— I'earl-Oyster ; Youn^ 261 262 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Malleid.e. In genrra] also the septa comincnce singly from the cardinal or hinge wall of the valve, and divide into two when about one-fourth the way towards the opposite or lower wall; the thickness of the un- divided part of the septum being equal to or greater than that of the two divisions or layers info which it splits. "We can readily understand why the sepia must necessaiily become united together at the point of insertion of the adductor. The muscle never quits its attachment to the valves; while the lobe of the mantle, except in its circumference, and where it is attached to the adductor muscle, must detach itself fnira the surface of the valve which is about to be partitioned off, when it secretes upon the super- imposed fluid the new septum, or basis of support. It 18 obvious, therefore, from the conditions under which the partitions are successively secreted, that they must adhere not only to the circumference of the valve, but to the preceding and succeeding sep- tum, at the part occupied by the adductor muscle, •nd for an extent corresponding to its circumference. The progressive change in the position of this muscle, by the absorption of the posterior fibres, and the addition of others anteriorly, changes in a cor- responding degree the relative position of these subcenlral confluent parts of the septa, and a beautiful undulated disposition of the whole cham- bered part results. If the adductor muscle were a tube, instead of a solid mass, the central confluent part of the septa would of course be perforated, and a siphon would result, the calcareous walls of which, from the proximity of the chambers, would no doubt be continuous, as in man)' fossil jiolythalvwus shells. " A disposition is manifested to form chambers, though in a much less degree, in the smaller flattened or superior valve of the water spondylus. In the specimen here deicribeJ there are three chambers, with narrower intervals and much thicker partitions than in the lower valve. The secreting power of the lower lobe of the mantle in the spondylus is greater than in the upper; and the layers of nacre which are successively deposited on the cardinal margin push forwaixl in a corresponding degree the upper valve, leaving a heel or umbo behind the hinge of the lower valve, which, from the inactivity of the secreting surface of the upper lobe of the man- tle, is not opposed by a corresponding umbo in the upper valve." After further details Professor Owen observes that "the interspaces of these successive layers of the growing spondylus cannot, from the absence of a medium of intercommunication, serve any purpose hydroslatically with reference to loco- motion : it is a singular fact, indeed, that the spon- dylus, in which the chambered structure is constant, and the ostrea and other bivalves, in which it is occasional, are cemented to extraneous bodies by the outer surface of the shell, generally by the con- cave valve, so that the septa must be regarded as mere dermal exuviae, still left adhering to the animal, to which, as a motionless bivalve, they are no incum- brance. It is highly probable that all the chambers are oiiginaly filled with fluid, as more or less is found in the outer ones of the specimens brought to this country." The fluid, as analyzed by Dr. Bostock, when poured off from a curdy sediment, consisted almost entirely of a solution of pure muriate of soda, with a brown precipitate, to which its peculiar rank flavour and odour were most probably owing. Tlie sediment appeared to be of organic origin. Fig. 2886 represents the section of a very old individual, in which the upper shell was very convex, and much more numerously camerated than the specimen desciibed by Piofessor Owen. We need not add that till death the number of these septa and chambers is perpetually increasing. We now turn to the subgenus Plicatula, in which the she^l is iiiauriculate ; the upper border rounded and subp:icated, with unequal umbones and without external lacets ; hinge with two strong teeth in each valve : a fosset between the teeth receives the liga- ment, which is entirely internal. In our example of Plicatula, Fig. 2887, a represents the hinge of the upper valve, with the two teeth. In its distribution and habits Plicatula does not differ from Spondylus. The recent species of Spondylidae are numerous, but the fossil species are very much so, and have a wide geological distribution, from the chalk and oolitic beds to the various tertiary deposits. Before leaving I he family Sponilylidie, we may revert to the fossil genus termed Dianchora by Mr. Sowerby, in his ' Mineral Conchology.' The difl'erent situations in which this genus has been placed seem to indicate that some doubt as to its aflmities exists. Cuvier, in his ' Kegne Animal,' laces it between Pachytes and Podopsis ; M. de ]lainville, between Plagiostoma and Podopsis ; and M. Hang, between Pecten and Pedum. M. Deshayes, in his edition of I.amarck, observes that Pachytes (fossil) had been formed at the ex- pense of Plagiostoma (fossil), and goes on to state i that, from an examination of the species, he was convinced of the identity of those two genera; and moreover that an investigation of the characters of ; Dianchora proved to hiin that they were identical with those of I'achytes and Podopsis. A still further inquiry terminated in the conciusion that the so- called fossil genera Podopsis, Dianchora, and Pa- chytes were only Spondyli whose internal lamina had been^|»solved, the external or conical lamina being thusTeft naked. The characters of the fossil shells attributed to Dianchora may be easily perceived by a reference to one of the so-called species (Dianchoia striata) selected by way of example (Fig. 2888). The general characters of Plagiostoma, Sowerb. ; Pachytes, Delr. ; Dianchora, Sowerb. ; and Podopsis, Lam., may be seen in Cuvicr's ' Regne Animal,* vol. iii p. 124-5. I Family MALLEID.E vHAMMER-OYSTERS). In this family, the shell, generally of a black or I dusky horn colour, is inequivalve, inequilateral, and ; very irregular ; the hinge is without teeth ; the mar- ; ginal ligament ^ublinear, simple, or interrupted by crenulations, tni^uscular impression subcentral ; the shell is generally fixed by a bys.ius proceeding from the animal. The mollusk has the mantle open without tube, and prolonged into irregular lobes. The foot is channelled, and almost always furnished at its base with a byssus. j At the head of this family M. Rang places the I fossil genus Possidonia: he characterizes the shell as being very delicate, nearly membranous, equivalve, but inequilateral, oblique, and rounded. The car- dinal border is straight, but a little produced on each side, so as to be auriculafed. Hinge toothless. No pit for the ligaments : no passage for a byssus. This form occurs in the schists of Dillenberg. The spe- cimen. Fig. 2889, is from the Irish limestone. M. ' Deshayes, in his last edition of Lamarck (1836), does not enumerate Possidonia as one of the Malleidae or Malleacea. ! From this somewhat indeterminate fossil form we turn to the genus Vulsella, of which the species are all peculiar to warm climates ; none of them appear to be furnished with a byssus: they are found !' amidst Alcyonia, sponges, and other Polypifera. The general form of the shell is seen in the specimen of Vulsella lingulata, a native of the Indian Seas. (Fig. 2800.) In structure the shell is somewhat horny and delicate; the hinge is toothless, and off'crs simply on each valve a projecting callosity, in which i.-- a pit for the insertion of the ligament. The muscular impression is subcentrical. At Fig. 2890, a shows the valves closed ; i is an inside view, showing the hinge and muscular impression. : The mollusk is elongated and compressed ; the I mantle bordered with two rows of close-set tubercles. ''• The foot is small and channelled ; the mouth is large, the labial appendages much developed and tri- angular; branchiae long and narrow. From this genus we advance to an allied genus, viz. Crenatula, of which the mollusk does not appear to be known ; like the Vulselloe, the Crenatula) in- habit the warmer seas, namely, those of the East Indies, New Holland, and South and Central Ame- rica, where they are found in spon^^es, &c., but are neither fixed by their valves nor moored by a byssus. The shell is foliated, flattened, suberjuivalve, in- equilateral, and irregular; a little gaping behind, but without any aperture for a byssus. The hinge is linear and marginal, and marked with crenula- tions which are callous and hollowed into rounded pits for the reception of the divisions of the liga- ment. Muscular impression subcentral. Fig. 2891 represents the Crenatula aviculoides. The genus Perna next claims our notice. The species belonging to this genus are all natives of the warmer seas, and particularly those of the East Indies; some, however, occur in the seas of the Antilles, at Cape Verd, and the Azores. They are furnished with a strong byssus, by means of which they are moored to rocks, and the roofs and trunks of mangrove-trees growing at the water's edge ; and they appear to range in depths Irom the surface to eight or ten fathoms : the shell is black or dark horn colour, lamellar, very much flattened, subequivalve, inequilateral, and very irregular ; the hinge isstraight and marginal, having on each side a row of small parallel furrows, which are transverse, and in which the divisions of the ligaments are inserted ; the muscular impression is subcentral. The animal is compressed; the foot is small, with a byssus at its base. Fig. 2892 represents the Perna Isognomum, a native of the Indian seas : a, the valves closed, showing the byssus ; b, an inside view of a valve, showing the hinge and muscular impression : though in the crenulations or pits of the tiinge the genus Perna approaches Crenatula, yet in general form and in presence of the byssus it more closely ap- proximates to fl.c typical genus of the family, viz. Malleus, or the Hammer-headed Oysters. j In the genus Malleus the shell is foliated, black or corneous, and of a somew hat nacreous texture ; the valves are subequal, the term irregular, often auri- culated, and presenting a hammer-shai)e or that of the letter T. The umbones approximate, and before them is a notch for the passage of a byssus. The hinge is linear, very long and toothless, with a co- nical oblique jiit, partially external for the reception o' the ligament, which is triangular and subexternal. The muscular impression is of considerable size and nearly central. The mollusk is compressed, with a fringed mantle prolonged backwards ; the foot is distinct and chan- nelled, with a byssus springing from its base. The Mallei aie natives of the seas of the East and West Indies, and of Australa-sia. They are found gene- rally at or near the surface, to six or seven fathoms; but according to M. Hang, the species from Gua- daloupe and .Martinique occur at great depths. They are moored by the byssus to submarine rocks and other bodies. The species are not numerous, but as two specimens seldom agree in shape, the genus at a cuisoi-y glance might seem to be very exten- sive. M. Deshayes states that he never saw twc individuals of the same species alike. Age eft'ects gieat difterence in their shape, and especially in that of the auricles of the valves. From this circumstance some yet regarded as species may prove to be only the young of others. The example selected is the Common Hammer- headed Oyster (Malleus vulgaris}, from the Indian and South Seas. Fig. 2893 : a exhibits the shell with the valves closed ; b, the inside view of a valve, showing the hinge and muscular impression. We now pass to a singular fossil form, referred to this family, viz. the genus Inoceramus, Sowerby, in which the shell is characterized as gryphoid, that is, with incurved umbones, inequivalve, irregular, sub- equilateral, with a lamellar shell pointed anteriorly, and enlarged at its base. The umbones are in- curved towards the hinge, which is short, straight, and narrow, with a series of crenulations gradually decreasing for the reception of a multiple ligament. Several species of this Ibrm occur in the chalk, two in the chalk marl, two in the gault, one in the lower green-sand (Slianklin), &c. The species Inoceramus sulcafus. Fig. 2894, selected as our example, is from the blue marl of Folkestone. The larger figure is of the natural size ; the smaller shows the hinge of one valve, the other valve being an inside cast. Another genus known only in a fossil stale is <' Catillus, of which the specimen selected (Calillus Cuvieri) at Fig. 2895 is a good example. With othei-s of the genus it occurs in the white chalk of England and France. Some of the Catilli in past ages attained an enormous size, specimens having been found measuring several feet in length. The hinge of the shell in this fossil genus has its border furnished with a row of small cavities, re- presented at a. Among the fossil form of the Malleidas may be enumerated Pulvinites. The shell is delicate, sub- equilateral, with the umbones inclined a little for- wards. The hinge presents eight or ten divergent teeth, forming so many pits. The impressions of this form occur in the chalk. We select the Pulvinites Adansonii, Defr., Fig. 2896, as an example. To the Malleida; most conchologists refer the genus Gervillia, like the preceding, found only in a fossil state. This lossil I'oim was first characterized by M. Defrance, from a species in the baculite kme- stone of Normandy, under the above title, from M. de Gerville, who originally detected it. It would be out of place were we to follow out in detail the opinions ol different naturalists respect- ing the affinities of Gervihia, but referring to the first vol. of the ' Zool. Journal,' in which these opinions are discussed, we observe that the writer of the article is disposed to regard the Gerviliiic as having the nearest affinity to the Perna;, from w hich they may at once be distinguished by possessing an apparently inner additional hinge, formed of several oblique teeth, variously disposed according to the species. Mr. Sowerby considers Gervillia to be interme- diate between Perna and Avicula ; Cuvier gives it (' Regne Animal') as a subgenus or section of Perna. The shell is oblong, nearly equivalve ; very inequi- lateral, and oblique. The hinge is long and linear, nearly straight, with many irregular and somewhat transverse little jiits, and teeth placed below the dorsal edge. A better idea, however, will be con- ceived of the general form of the shell by referring to our selected examples : Fig. 2897 represents Ger- villia aviculoides ; Fig. 2898 represents the Gervillia solenoides. This genus occurs through various strata upwards from the lias to the baculite limestone of Normandy, and consequently existed through several geological periods ; specimens are found in the green-sand or cretaceous group, and in the oolite. The families or groups which we have hitherto MeLEAGR IN'I D^:.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED JS^ATURE. 263 contemplated, from the Pectinidae to the present, are included by t'uvier tinder his great section Les Ostraces; and liere, then, ends the Monomyariun subdivision of it. The succeeding genera, belonging to the Ostracea, and indeed, generally speaking, all the following groups or families of Bivalve Moilusks, are Diniy- urian, excepting Tridacna. DIMVARIA. Family MELEAGUINID.B (PEARL-OYSTERS, &c.). Under the comprehensive genus Avicula Cuvier includes two sections: one, the Pearl Oysters, Mele- agrina, Lam. (Margarita, Leach); and the restricted genus Avicula, Lam., of which the Mytilus Hirundo of Linnajus, a native of the Mediterranean, and the Avicula raacioptera, are examples. To the genus Avicula Mr. Sovveiby also refers the genus Meleagrina of Lamarck ;' regarding the distinctions between them as of trivial importance. The shell in both is foliaceous externally, and in- ternally of a brilliant pearly lustre. The left-hand valve is contracted and notched posteriorly, and so is the right, but very slightly. Through the sinus thus formed passes the byssus, by which the shells are moored to rocks and stones. Theliganiental surface is marginal and broadest in the centre; and there is generally a small tooth in each valve near the umbo. Generally this tooth is most conspicuous in Avicula, but is not always found; whilst in Meleatciina it is, on the other hand, often apparent, though sometimes absent. The muscular impression is nearly central, somewhat circular and large. .As thus characterized, Avicula will comprise two sections, namely, one in which the species have the hinge line considerably prolonged — Avicula of Tjimarck ; the other comprising such species as are without that prolongation— ^Meleagrina of Lamarck. Cuvier thus defines Avicula (Les Arondes) : — The shell has the valves equal, with a rectilinear hinge, and is often carried out into wings; the liijament is narrow and elungaled ; small dentilations ollen appear on the hinge, on its anterior part ; and belo.v the angle on the side near the mouth is the notch for the byssus. The anterior adductor muscle is still extremely minute.* Those species are termed Pintadines (Meleagrinae) which have the auricles but little salient. The term Avicula is reserved for those in which the auricles are more pointed and the shell is more oblique : they have on the hinge before the ligament the vestige of a tooth at least, of which scarcely any trace is per- ceptible on the Pintadines. As the two so-called genera thus stand, it may be at least convenient to consider them separately, under a family title ; for even if it be deemed un- philosophical to retain the two genera, still Avicula seems to be the type of a family form. 2899. — The Bboad-winoed Avicule (Avicula macroptera). This shell, of which the valves are represented open so as to display the hinge, will convey a better idea of the general characters of the genus than any verbal details. These shells, as those also of the genus Meleagrina, are natives of the warmer seas, where they moor themselves at various depths to the surface of rocks, old shells, and other submarine objects. 2900.— Tub Fkahi.-Oystke (Mekngn'na Martjnritifera). Mytilus Margariti- feriis, Linn. ; Avicula Margaritifera, Soweiby. Our pictorial specimen of this interesting shell is that of a younir, or at least not aged specimen ; it is marked with beautitul foliations, which disappear when the shell has attained to a large size. The valves are semicircular, greenish externally, and lined internally with a layer of the most beau- tiful nacre. From the size of the ornaments made of this nacre, or mother-of-pearl, some idea of the magnitude attained by the shell may be appre- ciated. Were it only for the production of this article, so much in request for all kinds of" bijouterie," this shell would form an important object of commerce ; but yielding as it does its nacreous lining in such abundance and solidity, it affords also those more valued nacreous drops or nodules called pearls, estimated in the East, time immemorial, as " of great price" — the ornaments ot kings. Pearls are procured in both hemispheres. In the Old World, the Gulf of Persia, the west coast of Ceylon, and the coast of Coromandel are the chief pearl-stations. The Algerine coast and the Sooloo islands also afford these treasures. In the New World, the neighbourhood of St. Margarita, or Pearl Island, and other localities along the coa.st of Columbia, are noted, and the Bay of I anama also produces them. 'J'he fisheries on the coast ot Columbia must indeed once have been va.uable, for Seville alone is said to have imported * -M. l>c»liiyM •uiM Avicul« to he Monomjatiaa. upwards of 697 pounds in the course of the year 1587. Philip the Second's celebrated pearl, which weighed 250 carats, and was valued at 150,000 dollars, came from St. Margarita. Yet the pearls of the West are not to be compared with those of the East in shape, beauty, colour, or texture. We are not aware that any established fishery is now conducted at St. Margarita, or on the coast of Columbia on an extensive scale, after the failure of the Columbia and Panama speculation in 182G. On the contrary, the pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Persia, of Ceylon, and Coromandel are still actively prosecuted durinir the appointed seasons. Cuvier, in his ' R(5gne Animal,' places in close con- tact with Avicula and the Pearl-oysters the genus Etheiia of Lamarck, and which writers regard as belonj;ing to tlie Cliamidse. M. de Blainville, M. Ueshayes, and Mr. Bioderip, however, all agree that the EtheriiK ought to be separated from the Chamidae ; and M. de Biaiiville considers them as coming within the pale of the Margaritacea, or family of pearl-oysters. Lamarck regarded the Etherise as oceanic, and accounted for those shells having escaped the notice of zoologists on the presuBlption that they were attached to rocks at great depths. The first conchologist who ventured to doubt this, and to suspect them to be fluviatile, or at least tlie inha- bitants of estuaries at the mouths of rivers, was Mr. G. B. Sowerby ; his opinion has been confirmed by M. Cailliaud, who was the first to make known the fact that the genus is an inhabitant of fresh waters. From M. Cailliaud's materials M.deFerussac published a paper in the ' Menioires de laSocielfi d'Histoire Naturelle,' vol. i., including a revision of the species. M. Rang, during a voyage to Senegal, made some interesting observations on the Etherise which live 200 leagues from the mouth of the river Senegal, and, together with M. Cailliaud, who received the animal from the Nile, published a memoir (' Me- moires du Museum dHist. Nat.') replete with infor- mation, in which the mollusk was for the first time described. The livers of Africa and Madagascar appear to have afforded all the specimens, still by no means common in cabinets, which have hitherto been collected. M. F.'russac gives the following information from M. Cailliaud :— "We meet with Etherise," says that zealous traveller, "after passing the first cataract, and they do not appear to exist below ; they become very abundant in the province of Rebata, and below the peninsula of Meroe. The inhabitants collect them on the banks of the river, to ornament their tombs with them, and they say that they come from the more elevated parts of the Nile, from Saida, where they are eaten." M. Cailliaud found them as far as Fazoql, the most distant country into which he penetrated from the Blue River. In Sennaar the inhabitants informed M. Cailliaud that during the summer season, when the river was low, they took them with the animal ; but notwith- standing all his endeavours, M. Cailliaud could not obtain any living specimens, the river being then always too high. They are said to be common in the Jaboussi, a river which runs into the Blue River, and in all appearance the numerous confluent streams of this great arm of the Nile produce them also. The number found upon the tombs throughout Ethiopia is so great, that it is astonishing that Bruce and Burckhardt should not have mentioned them. (See ' Zool. Journ.', vol. i.) M. Deshayes, in his treatise on the genus, in the ' Encyclopi'die Methodique,' states that individuals of the same species adhere by the one or the other valve indiff'erently, which is not the case either in the oyster or the Chama;. The Cliamce, however, as has been observed by Mr. Broderip, are found to be attached sometimes by the right and sometimes by the left valve. The shell of Elheria is characterized as thick, nacreous, adherent, very irregular, unequivalve, and inequilateral. The umbones are short, thick, and indistinct; the hinge is toothless, irregular, undulated, and callous; the ligament is longitudinal, tortuous, external, and penetrates pointedly into the interior of the shell. The muscular impressions are oval and inegular ; pallial impression narrow and small. The mollusk is described as closely resembling unio. The lobes of the mantle are disunited and without siphons. The mouth is rather large, with a pair of palps, as in unio ; and, what is singular in an animal which lives adherent to foreign sub- stances, it is provided with a very large foot, which may be compared, in regard of its form and position, with that of unio. May not this large foot have reference to the acquisition of food ? 2901. — The Semilunate Ethebia (Elheria semilunatu). The species of the genus Etheria are at present in some degree of uncertainty. Lamarck records four : these M. Ferussac and M. Deshayes reduce to two; and M. Rang considers F^ Tubifera of Sowerby and E. Cailliaudii of Ferussac as identical ; and E. Cortoni of Michelm to be the same with E. Plumbea of F6russac. The variation in the form of the shell from age and other circumstances is so great, that were not this fact kept in view, each individual might be regarded as a distinct species. Even in the same species there are individuals armed with spines and others devoid of those appendages. Family MYTILID^ (MUSSELS, or Muscles). The family Mytilidae, as here restricted, is equi- valent to the first section of Cuvier's great group, which he terms Les Mytilaces ; that is, it includes the genera MytiJus, Mo'diolas, and Lithodomus (Les Monies propres of Cuvier), to -which we add the genus Pinna, although avvare that the mantle has no posterior commissure, and consequently no siphon, and that Cuvier gives it as a typical form under his Ostraceans. Yet its approximation to the Mytilus cannot be overlooked, and if we are to attach an over-great importance to the existence of siphons, and their number, we must then establish Pinnae as the type of a family in close contiguity to that of the Mytili. Leaving this point open, let us first direct our attention to the genus Mytilus, which includes that well-known species the Edible Mussel (M. edulis). The genus Mytilus is abundant on most rocky coasts, where facilities are afforded for the species mooring themselves to reefs, stones, and other sub- stances covered at high water, but left dry by the ebbing of the tide. To the byssus we have already alluded, and explained its mode of production : when the mussel is once moored, it does not, in the opinion of Mr. G. B. Sowerby, habitually disengage itself ; though he admits that when torn from its anchorage by the force of the waves, it may live for some time without being in any manner affixed. It is not only on rocky shores that the mussel abounds, we have seen beds of mussels on low, flat, sandy, or pebbly shores, as for example on the low coast between Southend andShoebuiy Point, Essex, where they greatly abound : numbers, as we ob- served, were totally free ; others had iheir byssus attached to small shells, little pebbles, or fragments of shells mixed with sand, small stones, and the like ; and certainly whole strata of these shells must in such situations suffer a greater or less change of place with an ever-flowing and retiring tide on a low flat shore left dry periodically over a wide extent of surface. Of the figure and colour of the shell of the com- mon mussel nothing need be said ; but, with respect to the mollusk, few of the thousands who have eaten it know anything beyond its flavour. In form this mussel resembles that of its shell : the lobes of the mantle, adherent at their edge to the edge of the shell, are continued dorsally and open in front, but are united posteriorly in a single point, so as to form a short siphon, or orifice, for the pas- sage of the egesta. The mouth, in a sort of hood near the apex of the shell, is rather large, and furnished with two pairs of soft palps, pointed, and fixed by their summit only. The foot is slender, cariying at its base and posteriorly to it a byssus, known as the " beard." There are two adductor muscles : one at the apical part of the valves, small ; the other situated posteriorly, large and rounded. Fig. 2902 exhibits the posterior part of the body of the common mussel, displaying some of the prin- cipal organs : A, right lobe of the mantle ; D, por- tion of intestinal tube; G, branchiae; H, foot; J., posterior muscle ; L, superior tube ; O, heart ; P, ventricle ; Q, auricle ; X, pericardium ; b, tentacles ; d, byssus; e, gland of the byssus; g, retractile muscle of the foot ; /;, valves of the mantle ; i, egg duct ; _;', excretory orifice ; k, internal ditto. Fig. 2903 shows the form of the eggs of the mussel, magnified. Fig. 2904 shows the mussel lying in a detached valve with the byssus ; the lobe of the mantle cover- ing t he exposed surface is slightly contracted, showing the branchiie. Fig. 2905 exhibits the mussel, as seen when the shell is partially open ; the byssus maybe observed rising from the root of the foot posteriorly ; the commissure of the mantle bounds the view behind, and in the space intermediate are the egg and excretory ducts, pointing to the short siphon produced by the com- missure, where the great adductor muscle is also apparent. Figs. 2906, 2907, and 2008 also exhibit the common mussel : Fig. 2906, the shell with the valves closed and the byssus emerging ; Fig. 2907, an internal view of oneofthe valves, showingthe mus- cular impressions ; Fig. 2908, an external view of one of the valves. The common mussel is known to pro- duce minute pearis, called seed-pearls ; and we have found two or three not unfrequently in a single shell. We need not say that the mussel is gregarious, noi.— fiemilnlite Etheila. 2902.— Hnneli putly dinectsd. 2908.— On of Masad. i-V 2909.— M3;?el!anic Mytilu?, 2904, 2909.— Mificl. 2906, 2907, 2908.— ShelU o( Mau«k 264 2910. — Dreusina polymorpha. ^Ws^^' 2917. — Shell of DreisBina 'polymorpha. S914.— Finger Litliodomus. 29'2.— Snlcated ^lodiola. 29;».— Pinna (lobellum. t 2913.— Cinnamon-coloureti Modioln. 29l(5.^Pinna nabellum. No. 84. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 265 266 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [LiTUODOMUS. occurring in beds which cover rocks and stones, generally between high and low waler-niark, but often also at a greater depth. We have teen shells clu^tered over by these niullusks, and some time since had under our immediate notice a large live lobster, the back of which was densely covered by a phalanx of mussels in senied array, a circumstance to which, on other considerations, we shall hereafter revert. We need not say that the mussel is extensively Used as food, and by some exceedingly relished. It is however eaten by many persons with certain misgivings, arising from its supposed poisonous pro- perties ; some regarding the byssus as deleterious, while others have supposed that a little crustacean (Pea-crab) which at particular seasons shelters itself in the shell of the mussel, is the source of mischief The fact is the mussel is by no means digestible, and that with some constitutions, or some temporary conditions of the digestive organs, it cannot be eaten with impunity. Several persons may partake of the same dish, and yet only one or two may suffer ill effects — which manifest themselves in flushings of the face, nausea, derangement of the system, often followed by blotches, rashes, swellings, spasmodic asthma, and other unplea.sant syra|itom3. Similar eH'ects occasionally follow a hearty meal upon crab, or even upon lobster ; a phosphorescent lobster is poison. The most celebrated mussels are from Ilam- Dleton, a village in Lancashire ; they are taken out of the sea, and placed in the river Weir within reach of the tide, and grow fat and delicate. There is a fine species of mussel (Mytilus Choros, Molina) particularly noticed by Captain King amongthe ghell-fish of the island of Chiloe. Molina, he says, has described the Choro (mussel) of Con- ception, which is not different from that of Chiloe. It is often found seven or eight inches long. The fish is as large as a goose's egg, and of a very rich flavour; there are two kinds, one is dark brown, the other of a yellow colour : but the last is most esteemed. There is another sort also, much larger than the Choro, but equally delicate and good ; the fish of which is as large as a swan's egg : it is called Cholgua, but as the shells seem to be of the same species, I think the distinction can be only owing to size. The manner in which the natives of these islands, both Indians and descendants of foreigners, cook shell-fish is similar to that used for baking in the South Sea Islands, and in some parts of the coast of New Holland. A hole is dug in the ground, in which large smooth stones are laid, and upon them a fire is kindled. When they are sufficiently heated, the ashes are cleared away, the shell-fish heaped upon the stones, and covered first with leaves or straw, and then with earth. The fish thus baked are exceed- ingly tender and good, and this mode of cooking them is superior to any other, as they retain within the shell all their own juiciness. Some of the Mylili have the shell striated lon- gitudinally ; as the following : — 2909. — The Magellanic Mytilus (^MytUus MageUanicus). In this species the shell is violet purple above, with long thick undulated fur- rows ; inside whitish ; length four or five inches. The shells of old individuals when polished are very brilliant and deeply tinted with purple, passing into rich violet. This mussel is found in the Strait of Magalhaens, at Chiloe, &c. Its flesh is excellently flavoured and nutritious. The specimen is represented as attached to a rock by its strong byssus. The next genus to oe noticed is that to which Dr. Vanbeneden has given the title of Dreissina (from M. Dreissins of Mazeyk), of which the type is the Mytilus polymorphus of Pallas and Gmeliii. In this genus the raollusk differs from that of Mytilus, the mantle being far more extensively closed, with three apertures, one anterior and two f>osterior: of the latter the terminal aperture is arger than the other, and prolongs itself into a short siphon, destined to conduct the water over the branchiae ; the other aperture is placed more dor- sally for the rejection of effete matters : the anterior aperture is for the passage of the byssus and the foot. The shell exhibits three muscular impressions, and a septum internally at the umbo. The shell is of a more recurved form than we find generally in Mytilus ; the Mytilus recurvus, however, of America, is regarded by Dr. Vanbeneden as its analogue. Dr. Vanbeneden records two recent species, Dreissina polymorpha, and Dreissina Al'ricana. In their habits these species resemble the marine mussels ; they form beds at the bottom of the water, adhering to stones, shells, rocks, &c. : numbers are often agglomerated together by means of their byssus in bunches, or to a stone or shell, which they entirely shroud. Their extent of range is consider- able, their dispersion resulting from the circumstance of their attaching themselves to logs of wood, or the keels of vessels, by means of which they are trans- ported from sea to sea. Fig. 2910 represents the Dreissina polymorpha. A, the shell and animal of the natural size, with the siphon, a, exerted ; and the more dorsal orifice also to be seen at 6; c, the posterior row of papillae, b, a view of the ventral side : a, tlie siphon ; b, the anterior row of papillae ; c, the languette. c, animal in the left, valve : a, the abdomen ; b, the languette in situ ; c, the branchiae ; d, the dorsal orifice ; e, the aperture of the byssus;/, the byssus turned back. The languette, it is stated, does not appear to be the true foot (which is muscular and serves as an organ of progression), but forms a part of the re- tractor muscle ; and possesses no character in common with the foot except its mobility; at the base of this organ is the byssus — such is Dr. Vanbe- neden's opinion. If this be not the foot modified, then the mollusk is destitute of such an organ ; but the admission that it seems to explore bodies with this languette, would lead us to think that it was at least a substitute for that organ, which in the mussel is more developed. Fig. 2911 represents the Shell of Dreissina poly- morpha; a, the inside view of the valve, showing the septum at the umbo ; i, the valve viewed ex- ternally, so as to afford a good idea of the general outline. The Dreissina polymorpha is spread extensively through Europe and Asia. It inhabits seas, lakes, rivers, and marshes, all being alike congenial abodes. It is found in the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic, the rivers Danube, Wolga, and Rhine (abundantly), the marshes of Syrmia, the canal of Belgium (Canal Guillaume), the lakes of Holland, the Thames, the Lea, the Commercial Docks, London, the Union Canal at Edinburgh, and many other localities. Mr. J. D. C. Sovverby, we are inlbrmed, was the first to notice the occurrence of this species in the Commercial Docks in the Thames, and he is of opinion that it was originally introduced adherent to shipping, logs of timber, &c. We now advance to the genus Modiola (Modiolus of some authors). This genus is separated from Mytilus upon some- what unsatisfactory grounds, and principally because the umbones, instead of being pointed and terminal, are rounded and do not advance so far as the an- terior margin of the shell, which is produced in a rounded form. Nevertheless, when a number of species, fossil and living, of both genera are assem- bled together, it will be found that the transition from genus to genus is so imperceptibly gradual that there is no possibility of determining the point where the one ends and the other begins. These observations equally apply to the transition between Modiola and Lithodomus, proving that the genera are artificial rather than natural. Many of the Modiolce live in stones, into the substance of which they bore their way, but by what means is not positively ascertained ; others, however, moor themselves by a byssus. Mr. G. B. Sowerby observes that "the Modiolae, like the Mytili and many other genera, afiix themselves to submarine productions by means of a bundle of rather coarse fibres, commonly called a byssus, each fibre of which is fastened to the rock by its expanded external termination, and applied by the foot of the animal. The recent species of modiolus are not very numerous ; we have, however, several on the coasts of Britain, of which the most remarkable are M. discrepans and M. diseors." These two species are always found imbedded in the com- mon ascidia (one of the Tunicata), and appear to be destitute of a byssus, while much larger specimens, brought from the West Indies, are found completely enveloped in a fine silky byssus, closely matted together and forming large bundles. Some cognate species, however, which have been brought from the Northern Ocean, appear, he adds, to have been aflSxed by a few filaments only. 2912.— The Shlcated Modiola (Modiola sulcata). This species represents a sec- tion in which the shell is sulcated longitudinally. It is a native of the Indian Seas. Hinge margin dentilated ; shell bluish white ; epidermis yellowish. a, the shell closed, with the byssus; b, outside view of valve ; c, inside view of ditto. 2913. — The Cinnamon-coloured Modiola (Modiola silicula). This species, which according to M. Deshayes is identical with M. cinnamomea, is found in the seas of the Isle of France and of New Holland. The shell is of a maroon brown or whitish; the epidermis is deep maroon brown. Most naturalists agree in the generic distinction of our next genus Lithodomus, Cuvier ; the shell is delicate, covered with an epidermis, oblong, elonga- ted, subcylindrical, and rounded anteriorly, but not gaping ; the umbo is distinct, but surpassed by the { anterior margin ; the hinge is toothless ; the animal is oblong, elongated, thick, with the mantle pro- longed and fringed posteriorly ; the foot is very small, linguiform, and channelled ; it carries a byssus at its base during the early period of the animal's ex- istence, but this is afterwards lost. The Lithodomi are rock-borers. In theearlystagesof their life they live like mussels moored by their byssus to masses of stone, madrepores, &c., but soon, impelled by an in- stinct which cannot fail to excite surprise, they com- mence boring the rocks or masses of madrepore to which they were attached, and form galleries into which they work their way, boring and enlarging the cavity as they proceed, and in which they are im- prisoned during life ; for their volume increasing as they advance in age, they cannot retreat by the way through which they have effected their entrance. Their byssus is now useless, it becomes lost, and is never reproduced. Lithodomi are common in the warmer seas of Europe, as the Mediterranean, and also in the seas of the Antilles. With respect to the mode in which these animals effect their mining operations, in stones and hard madrepore, we have many theories, but nothing positive. That the delicate valves are capable of acting as raspers on such rough dense materials is scarcely to be believed. Is there any solvent used? if so, would not such solvent eat away the shell as well as the rock, and leave the animal to perish? Can it be by the action of incessant currents of water, produced by the vibratile action of the branchiae, directed against the point to be worn down, and that perhaps with more impetus than might be supposed ? Such, we reply, is Mr. Garner's opinion. But for these effects to be produced by such an operation, for the rock to be chambered by little currents of water, and that not in the course of a lapse of years, but with consider- able dispatch, is indeed startling. We know that a perpetual current bubbling from its fountain will wear down the asperities of the rudest granite ; but then time must pass, ages glide away. Here, on the contrary, the rock is bored, the mollusk self- buried, and onwards, mole-like, it drives its levels. 2014. — The Finger Lithodomus (Lithodomus dactt/lus). a, the young with the byssus; 6, the full-grown shell, showing the inside of one of the valves ; c, the valve seen outside ; d, three specimens in a ma.ss of madrepore. This species is very common in the Mediterranean, and is in considerable esteem as an article of food, being plump, juicy, and highly flavoured. It is generally served up in the form of a stew, which is said to be excellent. Cuvier alludes to the agreeable flavour of its flesh, "i cause de son gout poivr^." We may now turn to the genus Pinna, on which we have previously ventured a few observations. In most cabinets the great fan-like, delicate valves of these shells are to be observed, no one can overlook them ; they resemble huge expanded flattened mussels, with an elongated acute apex, and a dusky roughened surface ; and with them we generally observe large tults of delicate brown byssus, and gloves or similar articles are manu- factured with this silk-like material. M. Rang characterizes the shell in this genus as fibrous and horny ; rather fragile, and delicate ; regular, equivalve, triangular, pointed anteriorly, rounded posteriorly. The hinge is linear, striate, and toothless ; the ligament is marginal, a great portion of it internal. Anterior muscular impression small and entirely in the umbonal angle ; posterior muscular impression very large. The mollusk has the lobes of the mantle disunited along their ventral border ; there are no projecting siphons, and the foot is conical or tongue-like, and slender. An elaborate anatomy of this animal, which he calls CliimiJEia, has been given in his great work by Poll In the old shells of Pinna we observe a tendency of the valves towards a laminated structure ; but in the young, the lamination is not only more distinct, but the different layers rise up externally, forming rows of fringes or subtubular spines. These wear down as the animal increases, and at last almost entirely disappear. If, however, a young spinose pinna be placed by the side of an adult shell, few would regard them as specifically the same, unless previously aware of the fact ; and indeed, species have been fabricated on this very ground. The Pinna), or Les Jambonneaux of the French, attain to a large size. The great Mediterranean Pinna (Pinna flabellum) sometimes exceeds two feet in length. These shells are generally found in deep water, on sandy bottoms, but at no great distance from the shore, on sandy bottoms, moored by the byssus ; it is said that the animal is sometimes fixed by its byssus, and sometimes removes itself by the aid of its foot. This byssus, instead of consisting of coarse scanty fibres, is fine, silken, glossy, and abundant. It is employed in Italy for the manufacture of various articles, which find a ready market; it does not, we Naid«.] MUSEUxM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 267 believe, take any dye. Cuvier says, " Le Byssus s'emploie pour I'abriquer des ctoiies prficieuses ;" but this cannot, we imagine, be to any extent. All we have seen of this fabric are merely gloves, stockings, and the like. Small pearls are often found on opening the shells. Fig. 2915 represents a, the young of the Pinna flabellum beset with recurved spines : b, the inside of one of the valves of a full-grown shell, one-fifth natural size. Fig. 2916 represents a specimen of the Pinna full-grown, with the byssus ; one-fifth natural size. With respect to the fossil Mytilidac, they are not very numerous ; some however occur in beds below the chalk, as well as in those above, but especially in the crag. Of Mytilus, from ten to fifteen appear to be determined. Of Dreissina, a species occurs in the modern Calcaire in some parts of Germany, and to this genus may be re- ferred the Mytilus Brardi, Fig. 2917: — a, hinge and septum enlarged ; b, outside of valve ; c, the inside of ditto. Of Modiola, M. Deshayes, in his last edition of Lamarck, enumerates twenty ; but to this number a few other species have to be added. Of Litho- domus five or six species appear to be known. With respect to Pinna, several fossil species occur in the secondary and tertiary beds of marine origin. Family NAIDvE (Fresh-water Mussels, Unio, Anodon, &c. ; Les Anodontes and les Muletes of Cuvier.) This interesting family is extensively spread ; the rivers, fresh-water lakes, and pools of Europe produce many species, but it is in the rivers of North America that the group is most numerous. Dr. L'?ach, Mr. Sivainson, Dr. Kirtland (in ' American Journal of Science and Arts,' vol. xxvi.), and Mr. Lea have greatly contributed to the elucidation of this family. The genera are all closely related to each other, the distinguishing characteristics being all of a minor importance, insomuch that several genera established by various naturalists have insufficient foundations. Such at least is the opinion of Mr. Swainson. Till very recently the Na'idne were regarded as bisexual, like the oyster, edible mussel, &c., and such was formerly Mr. Lea's opinion, as it had been that of Lamarck, who obsei-ved the viviparous na- ture of these mollusks, stating that the eggs pass into the duct placed along the superior branchiae, where the young are found with their shells com- plete. In confirmation of this viviparous mode of reproduction, Mr. Lea, as he states, on the dissection of a specimen of Anodonta undulata (Anodon undulatus), nearly three inches long, found the egg-ducts charged with about six hundred thousand young shells perfectly formed, both valves being distinctly visible with the microscope. While pursuing his observations on these fluviatile mollusks. Dr. Kirtland, of Poland, Ohio, informed Mr. Lea of the fact that these mollusks were indivi- dually males, and individually females ; and that he was able to distinguish between the malesand females by the form of the shell, without having recourse to the included animal. Shortly afterwards, Dr. Kirtland's paper on the subject appeared in the 'American Journal of Science and Arts.' Mr. Lea then instituted a series of observations which fully satisfied him as to the truth of the in- dividual difference of sexes. The female sustaining her very large burden, naturally requires more space within the valves : hence, as compared with tnat of the male, the shell at its posterior part is generally enlarged, difTeiing however in form in the various species. This difference of form, easily seized on by a practised eye, is the distinguishing criterion by which the females are to be recog- nized. The observations of Mr. Lea are accompanied by explanatory illustrations, of whicb we here avail ourselves. Fig. 2918 and 2919 represent the Unio irroratus. At Fig. 2918 the shell is seen in an internal and external aspect; at Fig. 2919, A represents the soft parts, showing the interior of the oviduct ; B, the exterior of the same, a, the mouth ; b, the great adductor muscle ; c, the right superior bran- chia; d, the great posterior muscle; e, the infe- rior right branchia ; f, the right oviduct ; g, the foot ; /(, the superior left branchia ; j, interior view of oviduct. At Fig. 232(1, Unio ochraceus, and at Fig. 2921, Unio cariosus, the appearances exhibited by the female molUisk are displayed, one of the valves being removed and the oviducts exposed. These sacculated repositories would almost induce us to term the animals marsupial mollusks. In these the eggs, subjected to the action of the water, become developed, the young, previously to exclusion, being rovcrcd by their shells, and, except in size, differing little from their parent. Vol. II. Fig. 2922 represents the female of Anodonta fluviatilis (.Anodon fluviatilis). In his paper on the Lamellibranchiate Conchifera, Mr. Garner gives a figure of the young animal from the eggsac of an Anodon, as seen in the field of a microscope, one- third of an inch focus. Fig. 2923 represents the mollusk of Anodonta undulata (Anodon undulatus). Mr. Lea remarks that the mass of lobes in this species differs from the mass of lobes in A. fluvi- aiilis, the tint being darker, and the arrangement of the oviducts very remarkable. The ova or eggs are placed in a kind of sac, lying across the lobe, and presenting one end to the stomach, the other to the mantle of the animal. They lie so closely together as to assume on the exterior a form like that presented by the cells of a honeycomb. This, says Mr. Lea, is of course produced by pressure. Some of these sacculi when carefully opened were found to contain as many as twelve ova; each with a perfect living shell in it, having a brown epi- dermis. Referring to Fig. 2023, o, represents a sac- culus with its ova: b, the egg or ovum with its perfect young shell included; c, the honeycomb appearance, the portion being eight times mag- nified. ; Figs 2924 and 2925 represent two females of Unio radiatus, as they lay at rest on the bottom of a basin of water : Mr. Lea observes that these females exhi- bited two very different forms as regards the inferior portion of the mantle. These differences will be seen by reference to the figures. With respect to the food of the Naidae it appears to consist of minute animal and vegetable matters, ^Mr. Lea says that he has strong reasons for be- lieving that the former constitute their principal support. Animalcules indeed abound in all current or stagnant water, and these he thinks the mollusks separate, from the constant stream which leaves the branchisB and passes out by one of the siphons. The operation he witnessed frequently in a vessel in which he kept the Naidae for some months. If the water was not changed for twenty-four hours, he uniformly found the animals quiet, but within a few minutes after it was changed, they as uni- formly commenced the passage of this con-^tant stream. He adds that he cannot suppose this opera- tion to be for the sole purpose of breathing, as there is no intermission in the stream of water, and the quantity thrown out is too great for this purpose I only. He therefore believes it to be the result of the action of the separation of the animalcules from the water. Of this however there is no definite proof, and we must remember the stimulus which the internal organs and branchiae would receive from the fresh water, and though this rapid trans- mission of fluid may subserve the purpose of ac- quiring food, yet we suspect that the action in question resulted from the change of spoiled and exhausted water, for that replete with oxygen. The shells of the Naidae are many of them lined with a most brilliant nacre, and are besides of con- siderable thickness. Wiien we consider the origin of pearls and their identity with nacre, it will not surprise us to learn that these valued ornaments are abundantly produced by many species. One species indeed, abundant in our rivers, namely the Mya margaritifera of Linnaeus (Unio elongatus), has been long celebrated for this production, and according to Pennant there were formerly regular pearl-fisheries established on many of our rivers. As early indeed as the time of the invasion of our island by Julius Cirsar, British pearls were cele- brated; and, according to Suetonius, one induce- ment at least to the descent of the great Roman and his legions on our island was the acquisition of these valuables — not that we credit such a story ; statesmen and warriors are influenced by far diiferent motives in their plans of usurpation and conquest. It would however appear that Caesar dedicated a brea.st-plate adorned with British pearls to Venus, in her temple ; but Pliny, who speaks of the pearls of our island, refers to these very specimens (which were small and ill-coloured) as a proof of their inferiority. In far later days, however, several rivers were noted, — among these were the Esk and the Conway. In the days of Camden (who died in 1623), the latter river had not lost its reputation ; and Sir Richard Wynn of Gwydir, chamberlain to Catherine, queen to Charles II., is said to have presented her majesty with a Conway pearl, which, says Pennant, h to this day honoured with a place in the regal crown. The river Irt in Cumberland was also famous for pearls, and the circumnavigator Sir John Hawkins had a patent for the pearl-iishery of that river. j Nor is it fo the rivers of England alone that I pearl-bearing mussels are limited. Ireland is not I without her share, and some specimens of consider- able size and value have been procured, especially in the rivers of Tyrone and Donegal ; we are informed of one which weighed thiity-si-c carats (a ca: at is neirly four grains), and was estimated at forty pounds, but was not of perfect shape and colour, otherwise it would have been more valuable. Other pearls have been sold /rom four to ten pounds, and one purchased at the latter sum was deemed so admirable, that, as Pennant states, Lady Glenlealy refused eiglify pounds for it from the Duchess of Orniond. We have seen pearls from the Unio of our rivers, but none of any size or great clearnes.s. With respect to locomotion, — as they want the byssus, these mollusks are never attached, and the large foot serves them as a sort of propeller in traversing the muddy floor of the pond or river : in order to execute these movements, they paitially open the valves, protrude the foot, and gradually set themselves up on their edge ; they then proceed by a series of impulsive movements, leaving a fur- row in the mud behind them. The genus Unio is distinguished by cardinal teeth; the right valve has anteriQrIy a short fosset, for the reception of a tooth of the left valve, and behind this a thin lamina or ridge, received into a furrow between two laminae of the left valve. In the genus Anodon there are no cardinal teeth. Mr. Lea arranges the Naidae in two groups, which he terms Margarita (a title preoccupied) and Platiris. Group MARGARITA. Subgenus Unio. — Having a cardinal and lateral tooth. Symphynote. — Example, Unio alatus. 2926.— Thk Winged Unio ( Unio alatits). a, part of the wing of the valve broken off, showing the symphynote character re- duced. Non-symphynote. — Example, Unio pictorura. 2927. — The Paimters' Mussel {Unio pictoium). This well-known species, of which our figures represent the young shells, is very common in our rivers. Several specimens from the Thames are now before us. The valves are of tolerable thickness. Subgenus Margaritana, — Having one tooth, cardinal. Non-symphynote. — Example, Alasmodonta undu- lata, Say. 2928. — The Undulated Unio (^Alasmodonta undulata, Say). This species is a native of North America. Symphynote. — Example, Alasmodonta compla- nata. 2929. — The Flattened Unio (Alasmodonta complanata). This species is re- markable for its flattened form, and wing-like appendage, resembling that of Unio alatus. Subgenus Dipsas. — Having a linear tooth on the dorsal margin. Symphynote. — Example, Dipsas plicatus. Leach 2930.— The Folded Unio (Dipsas plicatus). The term Dipsas is inadmis- sible, time immemorial it has been appropriated to a species of serpent. Subgenus Anodonta (Anodon). — Having no teeth. Symphynote. — Example, Symphynota magnifica. Lea. 2G-31. — Thk Sple.-vdid Anodon {Symphynota magnifica. Lea). Anodon magni- ficus. This beautiful species was first described by Mr.. Lea ; it is a native of North America. Non-symphynote. — Example, Anodon fluviatilis. 2932. — ^The Fluviatile Anodon {Anodon fliii'iat His). This species is common in our fresh waters. Group PLATIRIS, Lea. Non-symphynote. Subgenus Iridina. — Having a crenulate dorsal margin. Example, Iridina exotica. 2933. — The Exotic Iridina (Iridina exotica). Lamarck gives the rivers of warm climates as the locality of this genus. The present species (Iridina elongata, Sowerby) is sup- posed to come from China. M. Caillaud found it (if the species be identical) in the Nile, in con- siderable abundance, but we suspect that M. Caillaud's specimens are referable to a species described and figured in the 'Zool. Journal,' vol. i., by Mr. G. B. Sowerby, under the name of Iridina nilotica, obtained in Sennaar by M. Cail- laud, and sent to England by M. DAude- bard. Its hinge margin is not crenulated or den- tated. Mr. Lea makes it the type of a distinct subgenus. Subgenus Spatlia.— Dorsal margin non-crenulate. 2M2 itS«.-UDiondiatui. Mtl.— Uaia cariwus. 2^ i930, — Unio ocbraceus. ao33.-wAAodoiLamluUtutn. 29i8.— UnduUted Unio. »917.— MytiliuBraidi. 2022.— Anodou Quviatilis. t»j».— Unio ndiaHu. 292T.— I'ainters' Mu,. 2919.— Unio fnoratiis 2918.— Unio inoratus. 268 2934.— Nile Irtdiak. ^'^M 2929, — Flattened Unio 2931.— Splendid Ancdon. 29»(i.— Winded Unio. 2933. — Fluviatile .\nodon. 9937.— Purple Unio^ 293i.— Pli»te Unio. 2936. — Ptutular Unio. 1333.— Exotic IrUiiw. 29.-in.- F.dde.1 1,'nio 295^.— Spinous Unio. 269 270 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ark-Shells. 2934. — ^TtaE Niu Ibidixa {Iridina nilotKa, Sowerb.)- Spatha nilotica, Lea. We have already alluded to this species, which M. Deshayes, in his last edition of Lamarck, makes identical with Iridina exotica (.\noUonta exotica, Blainv., and Le Mutel, Adanson), but from which it is distinct. Accordini? to Ranjj the genus Iridina belongs to the cockle family, Cardiacea, Cuvier, Conchacea, De Blainville. To these forms are added others divided into — Plicate shells. Nodulous shells, Smooth shells, and Spinous shells. Plicate Shells. 2935. — The Plicite Umo (Uttio piiratus). This species is remarkable for the waved elevations of the valves ; it is a handsome species. Nodulous shells. 2936.— The Pistclar Usio (Unio pustulosiis). The somewhat rounded valves of this shell are covered with pustular elevations. It was fii-st described by Mr. Lea. : Smooth Shells. 2937.— The Pdspi-e Uxio (Um'oprirpurms), Unio complanatus. This richly coloured Unio is a native of America. It was firet described by Say. Spinous Shells. 2938.— The Spi.sous Unio (Unio spinosus). This species, first characterized by Mr. Lea, appeal's to have been discovered by Uartram, who found it in the Mississippi. It is remarkable for the spines that rise abruptly from the valves. VAfith respect to the arrangement proposed by Mr. Lea, it appears to be completely artificial ; and v?e agree with Mr. Swainson, who says that no per- manent characters will be found to retain either the genera Dipsas (Leach), Hyria (Lamarck), or Alas- modonta (Say). Yet in the second series of his 'Zoological Observations' the same writer retains as genera Unio, Hyria, Iridina, Anodon, and Alas- modon. In the Naidse the foot is very large, and com- pressed, almost quadrangular, and of consi- derable mobility ; the mantle is garnished pos- teriorly with little tentacles or filaments, and its bottlers are free. It would appear that about three hundred and twenty-three recent species are known. Mr. Lea in his tables thus enumerates them : — Of the subgenus Unio. — Two hundred and thirty- five specie?, and twenty which he has not been able to admit as certain. Distribution — Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and New Holland, but by far most abundant in North America. Subgenus Margaritana. — Twenty admitted, two unknown. Distribution — Europe, North America, South America, and perhaps Africa. Subgenus Dipsas. — Two recent, Asia. Subgenus Anodon. — Fifty-eight admitted ; seven unknown to Mr. Lea. Distribution — Europe, Africa, North America, South America, New Hol- land. Subgenus Iridina. — Two recent ; Africa. Subgenus Spatha.— Six recent ; Africa and South America. Numerous as are the recent species of Nai'dae, there appears to be a great paucity of fossil forms. Mr. Sowcrby, indeed, referring to Anodon in his ' Genera,' says, that unless we are justified in con- sidering the Bivalve from the Coal-Measures, figured in the British mineralogy under the name of Mytilus crassus, as an Anodon, he knows of no fossil species. Subsequently in the same work he refers many fossil shells found particularly in the Coal-Measures to the genus Unio ; judging alone from the casts of the inside, and comparing them with recent species. Dr. Mantell, Professor Phillips, Mr. Lonsdale, and Dr. Fitton record various species of Unio, from the plastic clay, the Ashburnham beds, the corn- brash, the inferior oolite, &c. ; and Mr. Lea gives twenty-one as the number of fossil species of Unio and one (doubtful) of Anodon. With respect to the Unio Listeri, U. Hybridus, and U. concinnus, figured in • Mineral Conchology,' Mr. Sowerby remarks that these occurring in the oolite, together with U. cras- siusculus, all want the distinguishing marks of the genus ; and that judging by their hinges alone he should hesitate to regard them as belonging to the genus Unio. M. de Blainville, who divides the Na'idte (or his Submytilacea) into two sections, viz. those which have an epidermis, are nacreous, and the inhabitants of fresh wafers ; and those which have no evident epidermis, are not nacreo.is, and are more or less pectinated, places in the latter section the genus Cardita and Subgenus Venericardia. This genus is also approximated by Cuvier to the Unios ; and M. Deshayes, commenting upon the position assigned it by Lamarck, between Cardium and Cypricardia (Fam. Cardiidce), observes that such is not its true position, and we must here follow the examples of Cuvier and De Blainville. The animal resemoles that of Unio. The shell is very thick, solid, equivalve, often very inequilateral, with the umbones curved forwards : the hinge presents two oblique unequal teeth ; one short and cardinal, the other long, lamellar, bent, and placed much more backwards. The ligament is elongated, subextemal, and sunk into the shell. The muscular impressions are rather large and distinct; the pallial impression narrow. These mollusks are marine, and are generally found on muddy or sandy bottoms, varying in dej)th to forty or fifty fathoms. 2939. — The Calt'cdlate Cabdita (Cardita calycvlala). Nearly without exception the Carditse have longitudinal ribs, the shell is solid and heavy, and the lunule much sunk. In the present species the shell is oblong, white, varied with lunate spots of brown; the ribs are squa- mous, the scales being arched, and incumbent; a shows the shell with the umbones and lunule turned towards the spectator. 2940. — The Imbricate Cabdita (Cardita ivihricata'). Venericardia imbricata. This species of the genus or rather subgenus Vene- ricardia occurs only in a fossil state ; the left-hand specimen is from Grignon, that on the right is a va- riety from Couitagnon. In uniting the species of Cardia and Venericardia, says M. Deshayes, and placing them in their most natural positions, the passage between them, as we ])uisue the series, will be found to be so insensible that it will be impossible to say where one com- mences and the other terminates, and when the internal characters are examined the same resem- blance is observable as in the external forms. With respect to the number of species, M. Deshayes in his tables makes out a list of twenty- five, joining the two genera together; and of these six are found both in a living and a fossil state. In the last edition of Lamarck he gives the number of living CarditfB as twenty-one, and observes that of Venericardia the only living species noticed is the V. Austialis, from the seas of New Holland. In the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' for 1832, three new- species of Cardita are described by Mr. Broderip (pp. 55, 56), and six species by Mr. G. B. Sowerby (pp. 194, 195), all brought by Mr. Cuming from the coasts of central America, the Gallapagos, and some Islands in the South Pacific (Crescent and Rapa Islands). One of these species, Cardita Cuvieri, far exceeds, says Mr. Broderip, " in size and beauty any Cardita hitherto discovered ; it was dredged from sandy mud in eleven fathoms of water, about seven miles from the shore (in Fonseca Bay). After its cap- ture the dredge was kej)! at work for some hours, but no other specimen could be procured. The ribs are broad, flattened on their superior surface, but very elevated and strongly geniculated ; the geniculations being for the most part three-tenths of an inch from each other. The shell is a very striking object, and has the appearance of a carved work." The number of fossil species of Venericardia and Cardita are enumerated by M. Deshayes in his Tables at fifty. In his last edition of Lamarck, the number of Ibssil Venericardiie is given as ten, and of CarditiB (fossil only) seven. Mr. Lea describes and figures four new species from the tertiary of Alabama. (' Contributions to Geology.') Dr. Mantell, Professor Phillips, Mr. Lonsdale, Professor Sedgwick, Mr. Murchison, and Dr. Fitton enumerate various species of fossil Car- dita and Venericardia from the blue clay, the arena- ceous limestone of Bangor ; the upper green-sand, the Bath oolite, the inferior oolite, the Gosau de- posit, and its equivalents in the Alps, the gault, &c. We may here appiopriately turn to another family, the Polydonta of M. de Blainville, the Arcada of I.amarck, placed by most writers near the Naidae, and by M. de Blainville between these and the Mytilidae. Lamarck places them between the NaYdee and Cardiidse. Family ARCADE (Ark-shells, Area, Cucullasa, Pectunculus, &c.). M. Rang characterizes the Arcadae as follows : — The mollusk has the mantle entirely open through- out its circumference, excepting towards the back, without siphons or any particular apertures; and partially adherent, sometimes prolonged backwards. The foot is always very considerable. The shell is generally thick, regular, equivalve. inequilateral, with a similar hinge in each valve, always formed of a series of teeth, which are often lamellar, fitting into each other, straight or oblique. The muscular impressions are nearly always united together by an intervening pallial mark, which is narrow and runs parallel to the border of the shell. The first genus, CucuUoia, is very limited in spe- cies; only one, we believe, being as yet known. The shell is thick, the umbones boldly elevated and distant; the hinge is linear and straight; ligament external ; teeth transverse and small, others oblique and longitudinal ; anterior muscular impression forming a projection with an angular border. The general shape and appearance of the shell, which is of moderate size, will be easily appreciated by re- ference to the specimen. 2941. — The Eared Ciicuu.jea (CucuUaa auricullfera). This handsome shell is a native of the Indian Ocean, and occurs on beds of sand. Externally the valves present both longitudi- nal and transverse striae. The general colour of the outer surface is deep cinnamon brown ; the internal surface assumes a brown tinge towards the anterior part, passing into violet. We now pass to the genus Area. The shell is boat-shaped, rather thick, equivalve, but inequila- teral; the form is elongated, more or less oblique; the umbones are distant, olten a little curved for- wards, hinge linear and straight, with numerous small interlocking teeth ; ligament external. M. Rang remarks that the species sometimes adhere by their foot, and more frequently by means of a byssus. 2942, 2943.— Noah's Ark (Area Norn). Byssaarca Noae, Swainson. This species, constituting the type of the subgenus Bys- saarca, is a native of the Atlantic Ocean, and of the seas of Europe. Mr. Swainson, who established the subgenus, says, " The animals of these shells affix themselves to other bodies, by a particular muscle ; which is protruded through the gaping part of the valves, rhey also adhere when young by means of the byssiform epidermis, which covers the exterior. A specimen now before us, which we procured in the Bay of Naples, perfectly exemplifies this singular property." In the 'Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1833, p. 17 et seq., will be found the description of fourteen new spe- cies, by Mr. G. B. Sowerby. They were procured by Mr. Cuming on the western coast of South Ame- rica, and among the islands of the South Pacific Ocean ; and were found moored to stones, shells, and coral rock, at depths varying from the surface at low water, to the depth of many fathoms. Referring to Fig. 2942, a shows the shell with the valves closed, and the hinge towards the spectator ; 6, the valves closed, with the edge or inferior aspect to the spectator, showing the hiatus; c, internal view of one of the valves. At Fig. 2943, A is a lateral view of the shell with the valves closed ; B, the shell with the hinge and umbones presented ; C, a single valve showing the hinge, a, the umbones ; b, the margin where the valves gape to give room for the extrusion of the tendinous foot. 2944. — TuK ToKToocs Ark (Area tortuosa). Trisis tortuosa, Oken. In this subgenus Trisis, the shell is twisted; the valves are obliquely carinated ; the umbones small and recurved. This species is a native of the Indian Ocean. Referring to Fig. 2U44, a represents the internal view of one of the valves, showing the character of the hinge ; b, the shell with the valves close, pre- senting the inferior margin; c, the external view of one of the valves. 2945. — The Antique Abk (Area antiquata). The shell of this species is transverse, obliquely cordate, ventricose, and many- ribbed ; the ribs are transversely striated ; the pos- terior ribs bifid. Colour white. The area auti- ( quata is found in the Indian Ocean, on the coast of Africa, and according to Lamarck in the Mediter- ranean. According to M. Deshayes it has been confounded since the time of Linnasus with another species, both being included under the same specific title ; yet he says that they are easily distinguished. The true Area antiquata, figured in ' Gualt. 'lest. 'pi. 87, f. C. ; in 'Chemn. Conch.' t, vii., pi. 55, f. 5-18, has the shell thicker, the ribs flatter and wider than in the other species ; they are also striated, and there i are no furrows on the cardinal surface. The other species is less solid, and more transverse, and has the cardinal surface always furrowed when the valves are united. He further remarks that the shell figured by Poll and cited by Lamarck is a species again distinct from these two. It inhabits the Me- diterranean, and is the living representative of a pECTUXCrLUS.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 271 fossil species, viz., Area diluvii ; and tliis iatler is figured by Brocchi as Area anliqiuita. Sucli was the confiisicii in which the Area antiquata remained, until cleared up by the celebrated naturalist above alluded to. We now pass to the genus Peetiinculus, in vvliich the shell is thick, solid, equivalve, nearly equilateral, entirely closed, with small umbones more or less distant, and an external ligament. The hinge pre- sents a curvilinear row of small narrow teeth, rather numerous and intrant; they are often incomplete under the umbones. The animal is rounded and thick, with no tenta- cular filaments on the border of its mantle ; the la- bial appendages are narrow, the foot is large, com- pressed and slit longitudinally. Tlie Pectunculi live on sar.dy or muddy bottoms, and move by means of their large powerful foot with considerable dispatch, propelling themselves vigorously along. They are found in depths varying from a few feet to seventeen fathoms: They have no byssus. 2946. — The Hairy I'ectunxulus {Pectuncidus pllos^is). The term hairy or pilosus is given to this species because the shell is covered with a brown hairy epidermis, giving it a singular appearance. The shell is orbiculate and ovate, with oblique umbones, and marked by decussate striae. It is a native of the Atlantic, and occurs also in the Mediterranean. Of this genus M. Deshayes enumerates twenty in his last edition of Lamarck ; but to these must be adJT. — Cardium eion^atiin 2958.— Cardium Cardissia. 2!)5(!.— Heart Isocorclia. No. 85. Vol. II. [THK MUSEUM OP ANIMATED NATUUE.] 273 274 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Ram's-hokn Dickuas. In Chama and Diceras, on the contrary, there are two adductor muscles, and the shells are ad- herent to rocks and stones, &c., generally by the flat valve. Still, it may he observed, that thouijh the genus Tiidacna (with the subgenus Hippopus, •which, however, will not stand) is Monomyarian, it has no immediate affinity with the Monomyarian oysters, or SponJyIi. The ligament o( the hinge is external and marL'inal, and the hinge presents two imequal teeth; the molhisk in slmeture more nearly approaches that of Chama and of the Car- diidat than any other. Accordingly M. Deshaycs remarks that it may be advisable to follow the arrangHraent of Cuvier, who ])liices the Tridacnte in the neighbourhood of the ChamsB, as indeed had been previously done by Linnajus; for the Swedish naturalist places under his genus Chama both the ChamiE properly so called and the Tri- dacna;. With respect to Hippopus, M. Deshayes agrees with M. de Blainville, who is of opinioi. that this genus must be suppressed, the principal character of which, namely the closed lunule, is valueless, inasmuch as it does not coincide with the structure of the animal, which is similar to that of the animal of Tril>!desma rariiyalum). The species described l)V Limarck i« a native ol' the coast of Bnuil. 'With respect to the fossil species, five are re- corded by Pliillips in the oolite group. Dr. Filton des.-ribes and fiifiires one as doubtful, irom the ureen-sand; and Mr. Lyell records another found at Caltagirone. Closely aVIied fo Amphidesma is the genus Lu- miniria. founded by Mr. G. B. Sowerby, and which he says is remarkable for the dissimilarity of the hinee of the two valves, one having a strong lateral tooth on each vMve, the other being almost desti- tute ol lateral teeth. •' Having:," says Mr. Sowerby, " only met with a single West Indian species, I did not venture to consider this genus established, until Mr. Cuming showed me several species in his rich collection of South American and Pacific shells, one of which is sufRcientlv large to show the characters distinctly.' (' Zool. Proceeds." 1838, p. 3i.) To this West Indian species must be added four »pecies described in the above ' Proceeds." 1833, of which one is the Cumingia mutiea. 2966. — Thb Earless Cumingia < Cuminf/ia muticn). Mr. Sowerby says that the ligament of the hinge is internal in this genus, and affixed to a somewhat ear-like pit or depression (ligamento interno, fovcolte subcochlearilbrmi affixo). The present species he describes as having an oval shell, very minutely decussated, rounded anteriorly, postcrioriy rather acute. It was ob- tained at the following places: Conception, in seven fathoms, on sand and mud ; at Iquiqui, in nine fa- thoms, on gravel and mud ; at Payta, in hard clay at low water ; and at Muerte. The other three species are C. lamellosa, from Payta and Panama, C. coarctata, from the Bay of Caracas ; and C. trigonularis, from St. Elena. No fossil species as yet known. W'e now turn to the genus Mactra ; the distribu- tion of which is very extensive, ranging through the seas of Europe, the East and West Indies, Afri- ca, North America, &c. The shell is transverse, inequilateral, subtrigonal, sometimes a little gaping at the mdes ; the urabones are protuberant ; the hinge has one cardinal tooth in the form of the letter V, the point being nearest the umbo, and the branches diverging from it ; close to this is a very sharp thin tooth. Lateral teeth, two on each side in one valve, one on each side in the other. The moUusk is rather thick and oval; the bor- ders of the mantle are simple, with two siphons, but little elongated, and united. The foot is very long and angular. The genus Mactra contains a very extensive se- ries of species ; some of singular form, others re- markable for beauty ; they mostly live on sandy mud and sands, at depths varying from the surface of the sea to ten or twelve fathoms. The living species are about thirty in number. M. de Blainville divides them into the following subgeneric groups : — 1. Species whose cardinal teeth become nearly obliterated, in consequence of the enlargement of the ligamental depression. Example : Mactra gi- gantea. 2. Species all of whose teeth are very large, lamellar, and not striated. Example : Mactra stul- tonim. 3. Thick and solid species without an epidermis ; the lateral teeth finely striated ; the mantle pierced with two openings, but almost without siphons. Example : Mactra trigonella. 4. Very thick, solid species, striated longitudi- nally ; cardinal teeth none, or next to none ; lateral teeth very thick, approximated, raised"; an external ligament besides the internal one. Example : Mac- tra crassa. 2967. — ^The Brazilian? Mactra ■(Mactra Brasiliana'). This species from Soulh America may serve to represent the genus; it is not rich in fossil species, which Mr. G. B. Sowerby says are only to be found in tertiary beds, unless some very singular fossils found in the secondary strata, particularly the oolite, be truly referable to this genus ; of this, however, we cannot be certain, because we know not their hinges. They will be found represented in Sowerby's ' Mineral Concho- logy.' The genus Crassafella now presents itself. In this genus the shell is equivalve, transverse, and inequilateral. In one valve there are two strong cuneiform, rugose, cardinal teeth, sometimes per- pendicularly grooved ; in the other there is only one. The ligament is internal, and attached to a-oonvex space placed on the anterior side of the hinge ; the pit, however, is divided into two portiims, and that part of the ligament attached to the outer portion IS visible externally when the valves are closed. The muscular impressions are very distinct ; pallial impressions simple, not sinuous. The species are found on the coasts of central and South America, and in the seas of Australia. 2968. — The Coumon Crassatella (Cratsatelia Kingicoia). We select this species as a representative of the genus, which contains ten or twelve recorded species, including two described by Mr. G. B. Sowerby in the' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1.S32, p. 56, both from the shores of America, where they were dredged up from sandy mud in eleven fathoms of water. Fossil species occur in the calcaire grossier of Paris, in the London clay, and, according to M. Defrance, also in the lower chalk — but with respect to these some doubt exists. The following genera, more or less immediately allied to the genus Venus, constitute a subfamily or section of the Cardiidse, in part the Venerida; or Venerina; of some writers. Mr. Gray, who recog- nises a family per se in the Veneridae, places as the first in his order Phyllopoda, to which succeeds the family Cyrenldic, and next the family Cardiidse ; thus establishing three families out of the Cardiacos of Cuvier, or the Conchacea of De Blainville. The j latter divides his Conchacea into the following sec- tions : — 1. Regular Conchacea with the lateral teeth dis- tant. Genera Cardium, with its subdivisions ; Donax, and Tellina, with its subdivisions ; Cyclas, with its subdivisions ; Cyprina, and Mactra, with its subdivisions ; and Erycina. 2. Regular Conchacea without lateral distinct teeth. Genera Crassatella and V'enus. 3. Irregular Conchacea. Genera V^enerupis, with its subdivisions ; Corallio- phaga, Ciotlia, Corbula, with its subdivisions; Sphaena, and Ungulina. As, however, it is not our plan to enter minutely into the arrangements of various writers, we shall at once proceed to the genera of which our pictorial specimens are representatives. And first the genus Cyrena : — Cuvier places the genus Cyrena (and also Cyprina) as closely related to Cyclas. The Cyrena?, he observes, are natives of rivers, as are also the Cyclades ; the shell is thick, somewhat triangular, and oblique, and covered with an epidermis : it is distinguished from Cyclas by having three cardinal teeth, instead of two. The raollusk, which differs little from that of Cyclas, has the two lobes of the mantle united at their posterior third, and prolonged by two retractile siphons se- parated to the base. 2969.— The Dusky Cyrena (^Cyrena fiiscata). This species is described by La- marck as a native of the rivers of China and those of the Levant. It is of a brownish green colour, with numerous transverse subimbricate furrows. The um- bones and the inside of the valves are violet coloured ; the lateral teeth are much elongated transversely, and denticulated. M. Deshayes, in his last edition of Lamarck, enu- merates fifteen recent and twelve fossil species. With respect to the genus Cyprina, it is closely allied to Venus. The hinge has three unequal teeth, ap))roximated at the base, subdivaricate above ; a lateral tooth distinct from the hinge, but sometimes obsolete. M. Deshayes remarks that Cyprina may be dis- tinguished from V>nus by the following points : — The mollusk of Cyprina has the two lobes of the mantle united posteriorly, and they terminate on that side in two very short siphons, or rather in two perforations resembling those iu Cardia. These si- phons are too short to require a retractor muscle, and for this reason the impression o( the mantle is always simple in true Cyprinae. In the Veneres the animal furnished with longer siphons is provided with a retractor muscle which produces a more or less deep inflection of the pallia] mark. Moreover, on all the Cyprinse there ought to be a posterior lateral tooth on the border below the termination of the ligament. The species are found in sandy mud, at the mouths of rivers. 2970.— The Common Cyprina {Cyprina vuUjaris). This species, synonymous with or a mere variety of the Cyprina Islandica, is found at the mouths of rivers in the Northern Ocean. It is cordate in shape, transversely striated, and co- vered with an epidermis. It occurs also in a fossil state. The number of recent species, according to M. Deshayes, is two ; of fossil seven ; but three species are recorded by Dr. Fitton below the chalk, which have to be added. We now turn to the genus Cytherea, which is a mere subgenus of Venus : the hinge presents four cardinal teeth in one valve, of which iliree are di- vergent and one isolated ; and three cardinal teeth in the other valve. In Venus there are only three teeth in each valve. Lamarck states that in Cytherea there are con- stantly four teeth in ihe hinge, and that the fourth tooth is very oblique, and always set in that part of the border which comprises the funule. In many spe- cies this tooth is indeed constant, but iu more than twelve living and fossil species, which M. Deshayes carefully examined, he traced a gradual diminution in this tooth, till at length it became merely rudi- mentary ; and he adds, that having in this rudimen- tary stage escaped the notice of M. Lamarck, the latter ]ilaced many species belonging to his Cythe- rea in the genus Venus. Where, then, asks M. Deshayes, is the division line to be drawn, and what reasonable ground exists for the separation of the two genera ? The same question may be asked re- specting half of the genera in every department of zoology ; seldom are they founded on philosophical principles, and seldom have they the same relative value. Of the genus Cytherea, M. Deshayes in his Ta- bles enumerates eighty-five living species and fifty- nine fossil ; but in his last edition of Lumarck he reduces the number of living species to seventy- eight, and of fossil species to nine. To the latter are to be added six species described by Mr. Lea from the tertiary beds of Alabama, and six from beds below the chalk, enumerated by Dr. Fitton. 2971, 2972.— The Spined Cytherea (Cytherea Diorte). Venus Dione, Linneeus. This beautiful shell from the seas of America is re- markable for the row of spines on the posterior borders of each valve ; in some individuals they are long and distant, in others close set and short. The valves are transversely furrowed with elevated la- mellae. In colour these species differ considerably ; some species are roseate, others vinous, others more or less tinged with purple. 2973. — The White Cytherea (.Cytherea meretrix). In this species the valves are smooth and white, with the posterior margin tinged with purple ; the umbones are spotted with brown ; some varieties are more or less marked with chest- nut. Of the genus with three cardinal teeth in each valve, to which the term Venus is mostly restricted, we may adduce the following example : — 2974, 2375. — ^The Canckli.ated V^enus ( Venus canceUata). We figure tvi-o varieties of this shell, which is girt with elevated tiaiisverse belts. The colour is white, spotted with bfty or brown ; the lunule cordate. It is a native of the seas of America. The species of Venus are very numerous, and, though occurring in most seas, are chiefly natives of the warmer latitudes, and are generally to be found at a moderate distance from the shore. From the genus Venus has been separated a group to which the term Pallastra has been applied ; the genus thus named reposes, says M. Deshayes, on characters of minor importance than Cytherea. The shell is delicate, with three narrow and approximated teeth on the hinge of each valve ; but there is no clear line of division to separate Pallastra from Venus. 2976. — The Pattern-shot Venus (Venus [Pallastra'] textile). This beautiful shell, reminding us of some zigzag patterns, the produce of the loom, is a native of the Malabar coast : the shell is ovate, smooth, and of a pale yellow with purplish scribbled or zigzag lines. 2977.— The Common Venus (Venus vulgaris). Pallastra vulgaris. It is very probable that this species really belongs to the genus Venerupis. A distinct genus vfhich we may just notice is Lucina of Bruguiore ; in which the shell is suborbi- cular, with small pointed oblique umbones and two divergent cardinal teeth (one bifid), which are variable, and disappear with age. There are two lateral teeth. The number of recent species is about twenty ; but of fossil species about sixty-five are enumerated ■ some occurring in strata below the chalk, others in tertiary formations. With respect to the following genera, we are by no means clear that they all belong to the present family. Most of the species are borers by habit, piercing stones and masses of coral, in which they reside. They constitute the family Lithophages (Lithophagida;) of Lamarck. The first genus to be noticed is Venerupis Cor Venerirupis), the shell of which is described by M. Rang as solid, striated, or radiate8. — Mediterranean Sangiiinolaria. 1 D1I9.— Rosente i^nngufnolarin. 2M7.— lUdUted Soletellina. 1993.— Common Mya. tMt.— 8abroitnt« Anatina.' 2?95. — Solen-like Liifraria. No. 86. Vol. II. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 281 2S2 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [SOLENIDf. We now come toafcreat section of the Conchifera, called by Cuvier I>e» Enlenii/*, which he thus cha- racterizes :— The species have all the mantle open at its anterior part, or towards its middle only, for the passage of the foot ; while posteriorly it pro- longs itself into a double tube protruded from the shell, which is always gaping at its extre- mities. Almost all the species live buried in the sand, in mud, in stones, or in wood. This group contains two lamilies of M. de Blainville, viz., the Pyloridians and the Adesmacians. To the latter are assigned the Pholades, the Teredo, and Fistu- lana ; lo the former, all the other penera. We have already said that M. de Blainville places the Saxicavae among the Pyloridians, and we are inclined to think this their true situation. It is among the Enfermcs that Cuvier places his Bys- somya. Family MYAD^ (MYA, PANDORA, &xX The Myadae or Myidae are described by Ijimarck as slender-footed Conchifera; the mantle having its lobes not united or .xcarcely united anteriorly : the gaping of the shell is often considerable. The liga- ment is internal. The first genus to be noticed is Pandora. In this genus the shell is delicate, regular, elongated, and compressed ; the valves are unequal, the right being flattened, the opposite more or less convex. The umbones are depressed ; the binge presents a cardi- nal tooth on the right valve, corresponding with a cavity in the left. The ligament is internal, oblique, and triangular : and is inserted into a little pit with rather projecting edges. Muscular impressions rounded, that of the mantle but little apparent. The molUisk is oval, and rather elongated ; the two tubes of the mantle are united only at their base. The foot is large, triangular, and swollen at its extremity. Labial appendages rather large. The species of Pandora are widely spread ; they are found in the seas of Northern Europe, in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, on the coasts of North America, of New Zealand, and the Philippine Islands. They live buried deep in the sand, and are not to be captured without some trouble. 2990. — The Beaked Pandora (Pandora rostrata). This species is a native of the coasts of England and the adjacent continent, a shows the interior of the deep valve ; b, the interior of the flat valve ; c, the shell with the valves closed. Fig. 2991 shows the mollusk of Pandora rostrata ; a, a, a, r, the mantle opened anteriorly to show the foot ; p. the foot ; h, portion of intestinal canal ; e, the liver covered by the egg-sac ; m, m, the adductor muscles ; c, e, the siphons. We may now pass to Anatina. In Anatina the shell is delicate, oval, elongated, and gaping at one or both extremities; the hinge is destitute of teeth, but is furnished with a horizontal, excavated, or spoon-shaped process, receiving the internal liga- ment, and sustained by an oblique lamina passing into the interior of the shell. Pallial impression very trifling. The Anatinee occur on sandy shores and in shal- low water. Two species are described by Mr. Sowerby in the ' Zool. Proceeds.' 1834, brought home by Mr. Cuming, one from New South Shetland, the other from St. Elena; other species have been obtained from the Philippine Islands, &c.- 2992. — The Scbrostrate Anatina (Anallna subrostratn). This species is found on the shores of New Holland. Its shell is vejy deli- cate and membranaceous ; the anterior extremity is attenuated ; the gape wide. From this genus we turn to Mya : the shell is in- vested with an epidermis, prolonged upon the man- tle and siphons of the mollusk ; it is rather solid, gaping at both extremities, and equivalve. The hinge IS composed of two oblique folds diverging backwards from a horizontal spoon-shaped process on the left valve, and corresponding to an equally horizontal pit in the right valve : the ligament is internal, in- serting itself between the pit and the spoon-shaped process. The anterior muscular impression is elon- gated, the posterior rounded ; the pallial mark is nar- row and deeply furrowed. The Myae are burrowing in their habits, and live buried in the sand of flat beaches, or in the alluvial deposit of SBstuaries, with the siphons just projecting above the surface. Some species are European. 2993.— The Common Mya (Mya arenaria). This example of the genus is found on the shores of our own island and those of the adjacent continent, where beds of sand in shallow water afford a suitable locality. Our pictorial spe- cimens exhibit the structure of the hmge and the marks on the inside of the valves. A few fossil spe- cies of this genus are recorded, and M. arenaria and tnincata are found in a fossil state, as well as living. Closely related to Mya is the genus Lutricola of M. de Blainville. He describes the shell as being oval or elongated, and equivalve : the hinge pre- sents two very small cardmal teeth, sometimes ef- faced, before a large triangular pit ; the ligament is double, the external portion is posterior, and not extensive ; the internal portion is thicker, and in- serted in the fossets. The muscular impressions are distinct, and united byapallial mark, which is sinu- ous posteriorly. The mollusk is furnished with long siphons, and a small and scarcely projecting foot. 2994. — The Compbkssed Lutricola (Lutricola contpressn). We select as an example this specie.f, which is a native of the European seas, and occurs in the British Channel. The shell is thin, compressed, rounded, and transvei^ly striated ; the colour is dirty grey, with a tinge of yellow or reddish. A section or subgenus of Lutricola is termed by Lamarck Lutraria. The shell is oblong, subcylin- drical, and widely gaping. The hinge-teeth are two, and strong; and the spoon-shaped processor the ligament is vertical. \\ 2995. — The Solbn-likk Lutraria (Lutraria soleno'ides). Mya oblonga, Grael. ; Mac- tia hians, Dilw. The LutiariiE and the Lutricolae frequent sandy beaches, in which they bury themselves, and thus avoid their enemies. The present species is found in the seas of Europe: the shell is marked with transverse rugose striae ; the colour is dirty white, or reddish. It is here, perhaps, that we may introduce that interesting form for the knowledge of which we are indebted to Mr. G. B. Sowerby, and to which he gave the generic title of Pholadomya. His descrip- I tion was taken from a recent species brought from j the island of Tortola, which passed into the posses- sion of Mr. Broderip, and (with that zoologist's noble collection) is now in the British Museum. The generic characters are thus detailed : — Shell very thin, rather hyaline, transverse, ventricose ; inside pearly ; anterior extremity short and rounded, the posterior more or less elongated and gaping. Hinge with a small and elongated pit, of a triangu- lar form, and a marginal lamina in each valve, to the outer part of which is attached the short liga- ment, which is external. Muscular and pallial im- pressions indistinct. A description of the mollusk, by Professor Owen, was communicated to Mr. Broderip. Pholadomya, he observes, " presents all the family characters of the Inclusa, or Enfermes, but dift'ers generically from all those the organization of which has hitherto been described, by the presence of a fourth aper- I ture leading to the interior of the mantle ; that is to ; say, besides the linear slit for the protrusion of ' the narrow foot, at the anterior part of the ventral aspect of the mantle, and the two siphonic tubular passages, there is at the under or ventral part of the united siphons a small round aperture, which is continued upon a truncated pyramidal papilla projecting itself into the pallial cavity, forming a valvular obstruction to the exit of fluids, but admit- ' ting their entry. This doubtless relates to some curious and peculiar feature in the economy of the mollusk." The discovery of this recent species, observes Mr. Sowerby, has led to the more perfect knowledge of several Ibssils, the genus of which was before ex- ceedingly doubtful; and which were in fact re- ferred by authors to several genera, to none of which they really belonged. Of these, some have been assigned to the genus Cardita, and others to Lutraria. They occur in several rocks of the oolitic series, particularly the cornbrash, the inferior oolite, and fuller's-earth, as well as in the lias, in the London clay, the Sutherland coal-field, and the dark, coloured clay at Alum Bay. 2996.— The White Pholadomya {Pholadomt/a Candida'). The Pholadomya is most probably an inhabitant of deep water ; the specimen on which Mr. G. B. Sowerby characterized the ge- nus was thrown upon the beach of Tortola aller a violent storm. The shell is marked with decussate striae, which are decurrent I'lom the umbo, a repre- sents the shell with the valves shut, the umbones anteriorly ; b, the inside view of one of the valves, showing the impressions of the muscles and mantle, and the umbo worn by the repeated opening of the valves; the wear to which they were naturally more exposed than the other parts. Family SOLENID/^i (SOLENS, or RAZOR- SHELLS, &c.). In the Solenidae the ligament is external and con- vex. Our first pictorial example belongs to the genus Soletellina, the shell of which is oval and compressed, with sharp edges ; the umbones are but little elevated; the hinge presents one or two very small cardinal teeth; the ligament is thick and con- vex ; the pallial impression is very sinuous back- wards. The animal is not known. 2997. — The Radiated Soletellina (Soletellina radiata). This species is a native of the Indian Seas; the shell is of a violet tint, with obscure rays. The genus Soletellina differs very little from Psammocola, and to this the genera Psammobia and Sanguinolaria are intimately allied. The genus Sanguinolaria has an oval shell, much compressed and scarcely gaping; the hinge present- ing one or two cardinal teeth in each valve, and a projecting convex ligament. The pallial impression IS sinuous backwards. Cuvier says that in Sangui- nolaria there are two teeth in each valve, and in Psammobia and P.sammothea only one. The dis- tinctions between these genera are in fact very su- perficial and indeterminate. 2998. — The Mediterranean Sanguinolaria (Sanguinolaria occidens). Psammobia occidens, l)esh — This species is a native of the Mediterranean : the shell is variegated with white and red, and radi- ated. The mollusk is remarkable for the length of its two siphons. 2999. — ^The Roseate Sanguinolaria (Sanguinolaria rosea). Psammobia rosea, Desh. This species is a native of the West Indian Seas: the cardinal teeth in each valve are two ; the valves are regular and preity well closed ; their colour if white with roseated umbones. Several new species of Sanguinolaria and Sole- tellina have been collected by Mr. Cuming at the Philippine Islands. These mollusks are found buried in sands and sandy mud, at depths varying from a few fathoms to twelve or fourteen. Another genus to be noticed, is that termed Solecurtus. The shell is oval oblong, covered with undulating oblique and longitudinal striae ; both extremities are gaping. There are two cardinal teeth in one valve ; one, rarely two, in the other. The ligament is external and convex ; the pallial impression deeply sinuous. The mollusk is too large for the shell ; the lobes of the mantle are thick, and prolonged into two great unequal siphons, united near their summit. The foot is tongue-shaped, large, and thick ; the la- bial palps are long and narrow. 3000. — The Strigilate Solecurtus (Sotecvitus strigilatus). Solen strigilatus, Lam. This species occurs in theMediterranean, and, ac- cording to Lamarck, also in the Indian Ocean. The shell is very convex, and sculptured with oblique striae. The general colour is roseate, with two rays of white. We now pass to the genus Solen, containing the Razor-shells, as they are commonly termed, which may be known by their elongated figure, the valves gaping and truncated at both extremities, and with nearly parallel edges. The shell is generally de- licate and translucid, and covered with an epider- mis; the umbones are completely anterior ; the hinge presents one or two teeth ; in the specimen before us two teeth in the left and one in the right valve • the ligament is convex, elongated, and fixed in a marginal fissure. The muscular impressions are distant, the pallial mark straight. As may be inferred from the shell, the animal is elongated, and has the mantle closed to a great ex- tent, adhering by its borders, and bound to the edge of the shell so as to form the epidermis ; it is pro- duced backwards into a double siphon, the tubes being united together, conical, and capable of much elongation. From the anterior part, where the mantle is open, in accordance with the gape of the shell, a long and powerliil foot protrudes, which serves as an instrument for boring into the sand. The branchiae are highly vascular, long, and narrow. Fig. 3001 exhibits the animal and open shell of Solen Vagina : the foot and double siphon aic seen retracted ; the anterior part of the mantle is open for the freedom of the foot. Fig. 3002 represents the shell and animal of Solon Legumen. The tubes of the siphon are seen sepa- rated ; and the foot is protruded from the anterior apex. Fig. 3003 shows the valves of Solen Ensis. a, an external view with the valves closed; b, an internal view of one of the valves. Several species of Solen are natives of our shores and those of the Continent ; as, lor example, the three species to which we have alluded. These Pholas.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 283 mollusks live on extensive sandy beaches, or at the mouths of rivers where a deep bed of silt affords them the facility of burrowing; they bury them- selves in a vertical position, with the foot down- wards and the siphons upwards, the apertures of the latter just projecting above the surface of the bed. Here they quietly remain, taking in food and water through the larger siphonic tube as the tide flows over them ; when disturbed, down they plunge into the oozy sand, disappearing with astonishing celerity, often baffling the most active endeavours to capture them, and making their way to the depth of several feet. When the danger is past, they gradually re- ascend, by the extension and contraction of the powerful foot, but are ready in an instant to disap- pear. The whole of their active existence is thus passed in descending to the depths of their burrows and in re-ascending to the surface. The foot is cylindrical, but alters its shape accord- ing to need in the process of burrowing. The inhabitants of the coasts on which the Solens are found, search for them, sometimes as food ibr the poorest of the community, but generally as baits for catching fish. The most favourable time for taking them is after high tides ; they then often appear just emerging from their burrows in great numbers. The ordinary plan is to throw into their burrows as they withdraw themselves a small quan- tity of salt, which so irritates the animals that they immediately ascend out of their holes, in order to get rid of it. They are then seized, but some ad- dress is required lest the animal should re-enter as rapidly as it came forth. Another plan of taking these shell-fish is by means of a long iron hook, which the fisherman plunges deeply into the sand, and drawing it out obliquely with a jerk, carries away sand and solen also. Family PHOLAD.E (PHOLAS, &c.). The family Pholailae comprises a group of mol- lusks, the boiing habits of which have been long known ; they penetrate wood, hard clay, chalk, and rocks, and devastate the labours of man ; they attack the hulls of ships, submarine piles, the foundations of piers and breakwaters, and conse- quently become objects of anxious interest: they force themselves u|)0n our attention by their in- sidious but extensive depredations, the results of which not only involve the loss of property, but often also of life. The first genus to which we shall direct attention is that termed Pholas, including its subgenera, Xylophaga, Pholidaea, &c. In the genus Pholas the shell is delicate, white, lather transparent, sometimes covered with a thin epidermis, of an oval elongated figure, and gaping at both extremities ; the umbones are hidden by a callosity ; the hinge is toothless and without a true ligament ; a flat recurved spoon-shape process, enlarged at its extremity, elevates itself within each valve below the umbo. The muscular impressions are very distant, the posterior one is large and dis- tinct, the anterior small, and often scarcely appa- rent; the pallial mark is deeply furrowed posteriorly. To the shell thus characterized are olten added Cfilain accessory pieces ; sometimes a calcareous tube envelopes all the parts, leaving an aperture pos- teriorly. The mollusk, thus protected, is generally elongated, with the mantle reflected on the dorsal part, for the purpose of tying togetherthe valves and the accessory pieces. The foot is short, oblong, and flattened. The siphons are elongated and united into a single very extensible and dilatable tube. The mouth is small, with trifling labial appendages. The branchiae are elongated and narrow, and pro- longed into the inferior siphon. The number and disposition of the accessory pieces in the shell of Pholas vary considerably ; and it would appear that the animal, as it bores its way, sometimes deposits a calcareous tubular linin;^ on the internal wall of the cavity it inhabits. M. Rang states that this fact he has not been able to verify from living species, but that M. des Moulins showed him several fossils from Mcrignac, in which he com- pletely recognised this important character. A more clear idea of the forms of the animal and shell of Pholas will be conceived by referring to our pictorial specimens. Fig .3004 represents the animal and shell of Pholas Dactylus ; the lower or ventral part is presented to the spectator, showing the gape of the valves. a is the mantle, open anteriorly for the protrusion of the foot: 6, the foot ; c, the double siphon, emerging from llie posterior aperture of the shell, d d. Fie. 3005 represents another species of Pholas (Ph. clavatus ?), seen at a side view : a, the siphon ; b, the mantle ; c, the foot. Fig. 3(X)G represents the shell of Pholas Dactylus, wi!h its accessory valves visible. A, the accessory Vnlves: a, the anterior pair; fc, the central piece ; c, the posterior piece. B is an exterior lateral Vol.. il. view of the shell, with the accessory valves in situ. C is an internal view of one of the valves : a, the internal spoon-shaped process, under the umbo. Mr. Sowerby, in reference to Pholas, says, " We believe that all the shells of this genus are furnished with a greater or less number of accessory valves, which appear to be caused by the deposition of shelly matter (within the epidermis and connected with the valves by that membrane), wherever such valves were necessary for the security of the in- mate. " They are consequently very various in form, and placed in different situations in the different species, though in most cases they are placed near the hinge, and have even been considered to be substi- tutes, in these shells, for the premanent ligament of other bivalves. We must for the present with- hold our assent from this opinion, because, on account of the situation in which they live, the animals inhabiting these shells can have very little occasion to open their valves : whether or not there is any premanent ligament in this genus, as we have never observed the animal alive, 'we cannot under- take to determine. Turton says it has none ; Lamarck, on the contrary, speaks of the accessory valves covering and hiding the ligament. As far as we can form an opinion from dried specimens, we cannot consider tlie substance to which these valves are attached as the ligament, but as part of the adductor muscle ; nevertheless we think we can in some species perceive a very small internal liga- ment, attached to two unequally-sized small curved teeth, one in each valve, placed in the same situa- tion as the hinge-teeth of common bivalves." He adds, " The principal differences between Pholas and Teredo consist in the latter forming a shelly tube behind its valves, and in its being destitute of accessory valves ; moreover the two valves of the latter, when closed, are nearly globular." The same conchologist makes the following va- luable remarks, in an introduction to the description of eleven new species brought by Mr. Cuming chiefly from the western parts of South America and the islands of the South Pacific Ocean : — " The utmost caution (he says) is necessary in the exami- nation and description of the various sorts of Pho- lades, on account of the extraordinaiy difference in the form of the same species, in different stages of growth. The addition of accessory valves, also, as they increase in age, must be carefully observed, in order to guard against too implicit a confidence in their number and form. And though I might be considered guilty of asserting a truism by stating that the difference in size of different individuals of the same species may and sometimes does mislead the tyro in the science of Malacology, lest such difference should mislead the adept also, let him, too, proceed cautiously ; and when he finds a full- grown shell of half an inch in length, agreeing per- fectly in proportions and characters with another of two inches long, let him not conclude that it is a distinct species, but if he can find no other dif- ference except that which exists in their dimensions, let him consider the one a giant, the other a dwarf. Let it be remembered that among the Cypra^ae it is not uncommon to observe young shells of three inches in length, and fully grown ones of the same sort only an inch in length. Likewise of the British Pholades there are individuals quite in a young state of two inches in length, and perfectly formed shells of the same species not more than half an inch long. For instance, in demonstration I need only refer to the Pholas papyraceus, so abundant at Torquay, of which the young shells have been considered by many as a distinct species, and have been named by Dr. Turton Ph. lamellosus. This varies in size exceedingly, so that it may be obtained both in an incomplete and young stale, and in a fully grown condition, from half an inch to nearly two inches in length. The circumstance of its having rarely occurred in an intermediate state of growth, when the anterior opening is only partly closed and the accessory valves only partly formed, led Dr. Turton and others to persist in regarding the young and old as two distinct species." M. Deshayes says that there is no true ligament in Pholas, but that a part of the anterior muscle is inserted on the cardinal callosities, and occupies the place of a ligament. In Teredo, also, there is no true ligament. With respect to the internal spoon-shaped processes, they are buried in the thickness of the animal, and embrace in their concavity a part of the liver, the lieart, and in- testines. The genus Pholas is very widely distributed ; and all the species manifest the same boring habits as those in our own and the adjacent coasts, and of the ravages of which the Breakwater at Plymouth affords proof. We have now before us a piece of hard chalk completely mined in all directions with pholades, and which we picked up near Ramsgate, where other masses of the same character were seen in abundance, and filled with the empty and dead shells of the borers. Some of Mr. Cuming's specimens were in soft stone, others in haid stones, others again in limestone, hard clay, decayed wood, and the trunks of trees at low water. With respect to the means by which these creatures effect their bor- ing operations, many opinions have been entertained. Some have attributed the perforations to a rota- tory motion of the shell, by which the stone or chalk is, as it were, rasped away. But as the shells fit the cavities in which they are lodged, this opinion hasnosupport ; besides, one would think that the ex- tremely delicate valves of Pholas would themselves become worn down by such a process sooner than rock. Others, again, have attributed it to the action of currents of water produced by the vibratile cilia of the animal, and directed so as to act anteriorly to the animal, which presses onwards as the currents wear down the stone. It is possible to conceive that such currents may take an effect on soft materials of which the particles become readily disintegrated, but when we see solid blocks "of timber, as oak, riddled in every direction, we cannot but hesitate as to the part which ciliary currents take in such perforations. The constituent particles of oak are, one would think, too adherent to yield to minute ciliary currents of water, the force of which must be very trifling. Others, again, have attributed the whole to the agency of some chemical solvent poured out by the mollusk. To say nothing of the danger to which its own shell would be exposed, this theory is discountenanced by the circumstance that the rocks or stones bored are of dift'erent natures, as limestone, clays, sandstones, &c., to say nothing of wood. Now we can scarcely suppose that the same chemical agent will dissolve one and all of these substances ; unless, indeed, we are to suppose that each species bores only into one given material, a circumstance which we do not know there is any ground for sup- posing, though perhaps some, as the delicate Pholas conoides, may be oftener found in hard wood than in stone. Mr. Sowerby, in his notice of the Pholas acumi- nata (loco supra diet.), found at Panama in argilla- ceous limestone, at low water, says, "This species demonstrates a fact of considerable importance to geologists. It is in argillaceous limestone, very much resembling lias, and in forming the cavity in which it resides it has, by such a chemical process as frequently takes place, absorbed a much greater quantity of the rock than could be retained or con- verted. This is again deposited at the upper part of the cavity, and thus the rock is recomposed." We think this fact equally as valuable to the zoologist as to the geologist. It seems to indicate that it is by absorption that the tunnel is bored. May not the broad foot, we would ask, be a powerful organ of absorption, and be in constant application, like a sucker to the end of the tunnel, throwing into the system the matter taken up, and which is again thrown out through the upper of the two siphons ; or, as in the instance of Pholas acuminata, re- deposited at the upper part of the cavity so as to reconipose the rock as the mollusk pushes onwards ; And further, may not the tube lining the internal wall of the cavity, as observed by M. des Moulins in the instance of the fossil Pholades from Mfirignac, have been produced by the excreted materials pre- viously absorbed ? According to this view, the foot would serve a double purpose : adherent to the extremity of the tunnel, it would carry on the excavation by absorption, and draw the animal forwards, in accordance with the rapidity of the pro- cess. Let it not be supposed that we wish to be positive on a subject which, alter all, is involved in much obscurity. A better idea than mere words will convey of the destructive labours of the Pholas, may be con- ceived by reference to our pictorial specimens. Fig. 3007 represents the Pholas striatus in wood : the mass is completely riddled by the animals, to the shape of which it will be seen the cavities are precisely fitted. Fig. 3008 shows a block of stone perforated by the Pholas Dactylus. Fig. 3009 is a block of wood perforated by Pholas dorsalis (Xylophaga dorsalis). Fig. 3010 represents the shell of Pholas dorsalis, the type of the subgenus Xylophaga. a, an enlarged view of the interior of the valves ; b, a doi-sal view, natural size ; c, a ventral view, natural size. Fig. 3011 represents the Pholas jiapyraceus, com- mon on the coast of Devonshire, belonging to the genus or subgenus Pholidaea of Leach. Ttie shell, with the animal inclosed, is seen in a side view at a ; in a dorsal view at 6 ; c, a terminal cup-shaped membrane. The fossil species of Pholas are rare ; they occur in strata below the chalk, and also in tertiary for- mations. Within the limits of the Family Pho'alne we place the genera Teredina and Teredo, part of the Tabu- lida; of Lamarck. 2 02 SO) I.— PhuUi |wp>r»re»<. 3003,— Solen Knsis. 3000.— Pholu donalis, in wood. 8008. — I'holu (lactylus, instune. 330 5.— So*. en L.?gumen, 3005. — I'holas clavntus. 3000.— Stiigilate Solecurtua. 8001. — Solen Vayina. ^© ,1' H i 3010,— IHiolu dorsalu. 3007. — Pholas striatns, in woott. SO^'.-rhulils dai-Hlus. 300<.— PlioUs dactylus. 284 30:jJ — Mttikea TeiffHi 3018. 30;e, 30t5,^Transverse Sections of Shell of Teredo gigaiitea. 302).— Oa^rcclienn, aoifl. — Teredo gigante:i. (From Rnnnpliins.) i0 3021,— KistuUnac'.ava, 30'.3.— Tercilo navalls, oil', "f slifll. fl B 30lr. — Teredo gtgantea. (From lirinTitlis.) COM,— Shell and Tube of Teredo naralis. 3015.— Wool perforated b>- Teredo navalU. 285 286 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NAIURE. [Tehedina. 3012.— The Maskib Tebeuina (Tcredina pertonata). The genus Teredina is known only in a fossil slate. Like Teredo, and other lorms to which we shall presently allude, be- sides valves, it presents a tubular extension, solid, testaceous, and of considerable thickness, graduiilly diminishing as it proceeds ; it is not divided by a partition into two siphons, but it is continued from and unites the posterior part of the two valves M. Deshayes remarks that Tcredina is a true Pholas, with globular vhIvcs fixed at the end of a tube, and is furnished within wilh those ap- pendages characteristic of Pholas and Teredo. Turn- ing to the figure, a shows the valves with the basal part of the tube ; b is the continuation of the same tube ; c, an accessory valve ; d, the two valves with the accessory valve in its place. The Tcredina persoiiata is found in the Eocene beds of the teitiaiy system. Tlie genus Teredo is represented by that formi- dable animal Calamitas navium, the ravages of which upon submerged wood are so extensive and dangerous. These animals, says Cuvier, Les Tarets of the French, have the miuiile continued into a tube, very much lonjier than their two little rhomboidal valves, and terminated by two short siphons ; a muscular ring at the point of junction of the mantle and the tubes has implanted there a pair of pediculaled corneo-calcareousappendages, or "palettes," playing laterally one against the other. These moUusks penetrate when young info the interior of sub- merged wood, as stakes or piles, and the keels of ships, and, establishing themselves there, commit great mischief, riddling every part. It is supposed that the Teredo, in oider to bury itself according to its growth, perforates the wood by the aid of its valves. The tubes remain always towards the orifice by which it made its entrance, and through which it draws in the water and nutriment, by the action of the " palettes. ' The tunnel in wliich it dwells is lined with a calcareous crust transuded from it, and which forms a sort of tubular shell. The animal, we may add, is vermiform in shape, with a delicate mantle open in front, and at its lower part for the passage of a manimiliform foot ; the nioulh is small, with short labial appendages. The shell is thick, short, annular, and open before and behind. There is no hinge ; an elongated nearly straight spoon-shaped process presents a slightly marked muscular impression. The tube is cylindrical, straight or flexuous, and becomes closed with age at the anterior extremity, so as to envelope both animal and shell, but it always remains open at the other end, and lines the cavity which the animal luas perforated. Sir Everard Home, whose account of the Teredo navalis, and a species called by him Teredo gi- ganlea, was published in the ' Pliilosoiihical Transactions,' ISOG, states that on examining the shell of Teredo navalis while in the wood, he found the external orifice of the canal very small, and in fact only just large enough to give passage to the two small tubes or siphons. The canal at its termination and for an inch in length was not lined with shell, but smeared over with a dirty green-coloured mucus, which was also spread upon the last-formed portion of the shell. When the animal was alive, and undisturbed, what is termed the head was in contact with the end of the canal in the wood ; but on laying bare the head it was drawn for an inch into the shell. The largest of the worms (Teredines) examined measured eight inches in length ; and many were alive twenty-four hours after being removed from the shell. The head of the worm was enclosed between the two boring-shells, and these were united toeether by a strong double muscle, having a middle tendon, and enclosing the oesophagus and other parts. On the opposite side of the head the shells were united by a ligament, and at this part were two small tooth-like processes, one from the narrow edge of each shell, where they were joined together. From the middle of the exposed part of the head projected a kind of proboscis, which in the living animal had a vermicular mo- tion ; its extremity was covered by a cuticle not unlike the cornea of the eye ; and it was found to cover a cavity like a Florence flask with the large end uppermost, and containing a hard biovvn-co- loured gelatinous substance. This pioboscis has no orifice, and Sir E. Home remarks, there is reason to believe it adheres to the wood, acting as a centre- bit, while the animal is at work witli the shell, and thus the canal in the wood is perfectly cylindrical. The mouth was nearly concealed by the projection of the proboscis, but was a distinct round orifice. The body of the worm was found enclosed in one general covering, extending from the base of the boring shell, with which it was connected, to the root of the two small tubes which appear out of the wood. It terminates in a small double fold, forming a cup, on the inside of which are fixed the stems of two opercula, which become broad and flat towards their extremity ; these, when brought together, shut up the shell and enclose the two con- tracted limbs. The Teredo, he adds, turns round in the shell, to which the animal is not attached, and to which its covering has only a slight connexion at one particular spot, to prevent the external tubes from being disturbed. The motion, he observes, is for the purpose of boring. Fig. 3013 reoresents the animal of Teredo navalis out of the shell. A. In this the opercula are want- ing and the tubes retracted ; B. In this specimen the opercula are in their situation : a a, the boring- shells ; 6, the proboscis; c, the mouth; d d, the contents of the abdomen, seen through the trans- parent external covering ; e e, the branchiae, seen in the same manner. Fig. 3014 represents the tube and shell of Teredo navalis : a, the tube with "the valves in their natural position at its anterior extremity; b and c, two views of valves ; d, the two tubular siphons of the animal protruded. Fig. 3015 represents a block of wood perforated by the Teredo navalis. The Teredo navalis has been found at depths varying from the surface to ten fathoms; though unfortunately now so common in our seas, this terrible scourge is said to have been originally brought by ships from warmer climates. All sub- marine wood-work, such as the piles of piers, flood- gates, and the like, are soon riddled by it, often in spite of every precaution ; and it has threatened the submersion of Holland by the destruction of the flood-gates and wood-work of the dykes. The rapidity with which it commits its ravages is astonishing ; a piece of deal after forty days' sub- mersion has been found completely riddled by these animals, some of which had attained to a consider- able size even in that short space of time. Montagu obtained a number of these animals in piles from the Dockyard at Plymouth, which were taken up to be replaced with new, although they had not been above four or five years under water, and were sound solid oak when driven. The most effectual way to preserve wood from the attacks of these "worms" is to cover the whole of the suiface exposed to their depredations with short broad- headed nails, set as closely together as possible. The action of the salt-water on the iron produces a coating of rust, which is said to be superior in durability and effect to the copper sheathing with which the hulls of vessels are covered under- neath. II has been a question whether the Teredo navalis derives nutriment from the particles of the wood in which it drives its galleries, or the contrary. We think the probability is that it does not, and that the end of its boring is only to secure a proper habitation. It is, we believe, ascertained that an impalpable vegetable sawdust is found in the intes- tines, but unchanged by the process of digestion ; and besides, at a certain period of existence, the animal closes the tube and valves anteriorly, and ceases to bore, deriving its nutriment, through one of the open siphons, from the animal matters with which the sea-water is replete. Sir E. Home suggests that, as the alimentary canal is straight and simple, the sawdust may be needful in order to retard the progress of the food, that the complete digestion of the latter may be effected. This, however, is a mere theory. A gigantic Teredo, Teredo gigantea, is found in the Indian Seas, but fortunately it does not bore into wood, its habitation being perforated in deep beds of hardened mud. This species, which attains the length of six feet, and perhaps much more, was first figured by Rumphius. His specimens were found in shallow water among mangrove-trees. In 1805 Captain Maxwell, of the Calcutta, East India- man, gave to Sir Everard (then Mr.) Home a specimen of this singular shell or tubular envelope, five feet long, though imperfect at both extremities. By some scientific men this was considered as a hollow stalactite, but Sir Joseph Banks regarded it as a shell, and chemical analysis confirmed the correctness of his opinion. In the ' Phil. Trans. ' for 1806 is a paper by Mr. Gi ifiiths (to whom Sir E. Home was introduced by Mr. Marsden) on the Teredo gigantea, immediately preceding that by Sir E. Home. Mr. Giiffiths relates that a short time afler a very violent earthquake which occurred in the year 17i)7, at Sumatra, and produced a most tremendous inundation of the sea, spreading desolation around and causing the loss of many lives, these shells were procured in a small bay with a muddy bottom, surrounded by coral reefs, on the island of Battoo. On the recession of the sea alter the extraordinary inundation, they were observed : protruding from a bank of slightly indurated mud, and two or three specimens were brought to Mr. Giiffiths, by the master of a trading boat. Mr. Griffiths then sent one of his servants, a Papooa Cofl'ree, who was an excellent diver, to procure others. This man stated that he had found the shells in the bay already mentioned, and also in an inlet of the sea, sticking out of hard mud mixed with sand and small stones; they protruded to the extent of eight or ten inches, and were from one to three fathoms under water. Mr. GiitSths was assured that the animal throws out tentacula from the two apertures of the apex of the shell, resembling small Actiniae (sea anemones), and that the shell was filled with soft gelatinous flesh, similar to that of the Teredo navalis; this, however, being putrid, was washed out by the men who collected the specimens. All the shells were more or less mutilated, probably by the action of the waves, which had torn up large masses of coral and madrepore, during the continuance of the earth- quake. The longest Air. Griffiths procured was five feet four inches; some had the anterior ex- tremity, others the posterior extremity broken. Most of the shells had the small cocks-comb oyster and various scrpnlae adhering to their posterior extremity for more than a foot, proving that during their existence this part of the shell had protruded above the mud in which the remainder was buried. The specimens were milk-white externally, and tinged with yellow within ; and the large or buiied end was completely closed, and had a rounded appearance. The substance of the shell was composed of layers having a fibrous and radiated appearance, covered externally with a pure while crust. Many specimens were nearly straight, others more or less contorted. Here then we have a gigantic Teredo, which bores not into wood, but into banks of mud in the sea, and lives alter the closure of the buiied ex- tremity of its singular shell. Fig. 3<)16 represents the Teredo gigantea as figured by Rumphius, with two terminal tubes, in which it differs a little from the specimens obtained by Mr. Griffiths, perhaps in consequence of a different kind of situation. The anterior extremity is closed. Fig. 3017 is the Teredo gigantea, as figured by Mr. Griffiths. A, the small or upper end, protruding from the mud; the external covering is broken away, showing the termination of the tubes, one of which is broken : B, a longitudinal section of that part of the shell where the double tubes are formed : C, the shell complete, or nearly so, the upper extremity only being imperfect. Fig. 3018, a transverse section of the shell, giving a front view of the orifices of the double tube, and showing the thickness of the shell at that part. Fig. 3019, a transverse section of the shell at a thicker part, after it had been polished, showing the density of its structure, and giving a front view of the orifices into the double tube. The circum- ference at the base of a shell of five feet four inches was nine inches, but at this part its substance is thin. The apex with the double tube is brittle. Family GASTHOCH.ENIDJi, Gray (G ASTRO. CH^NA, CLAVAGELLA, &c.). The family Gastrochaenidse comprehends part of the family TubicolidiE of Lamarck, and is composed of tubular burrowing moUusks, of which we first select the Gastiochaena. Of the genus Gastrochaina several species aie known, and in the ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1834, pp. 21, 22, will be found the description, by Mr. G. B. Sowerby, of five species from the western coast of South America and the islands of the South Pacific. In Gaslrocha;na there is a delicate bivalve shell, extremely gaping, with distinct umbones, a straight hinge, anU an external ligament, and showing internally two muscular impressions. In this shell the mollusk is partially enclosed, with the lobes of the mantle united, (leaving only a small anterior opening fora conical loot,) and produced posteriorly into two united tubes. To the shell is sometimes added a calcareous tube which envelopes the valves, and lines the cavity of the stone into which the animal has penetrated. Cuvier says, it appears, that the Gastrochacnae have uniformly a calcareous tube, but M. Hang states that this is not the case, though, like the Pliolas, all burrow into stones. Sometimes, however, the animal burrows in madrepore, and sometimes not at all, but takts up its abode in old shells, as spondyli, and pearl-oysters, &c. M. Rang divides Gastrocha-na into two sections : I. species whose shell is smooth without a distinct tube — Example, Gastrochiena cuneilorrais ; 2. species whose shell is striated from the umbo to the base, and contained in a distinct tube. — Example, Gastrochaena clava. This testaceous lube, it may be observed, the Gastrocliaena forms either as a lining lor the canal it has perforated, or as a covering tor its shell Gastrocii.t.na.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 287 in those instances in wliicli it lias not perforated at all, but in which it has taken up its abode in the recesses of some empty shell. This will be best understood by the reference to our pictorial spe- cimens. At t'lg. 3020, A shows a group of the tubes of the Gastrocha;na modiolina, Lam., from the Mediterra- nean. A has the tube broken, displaying the en- shrouded shell in situ. B is a specimen of the anterior portion of a fossil spindle (Fusus Noae), from Grii^non, cut open and displaying the small clavate tube of a fossil Gastrochaena which had taken its lodirment there. C, a worn fragment of madrepore, broken open to show the tube formed by a specimen of Gastrochaena cuneiformis. D and 'E, the shell of Gastrochsena cuneiformis, in two views. Fossil Gastrochaenae are not numerous ; one species occurs in the inferior oolite. We may here advert to the genus Fistulana, between which and the preceding the grounds of distinction appear to be somewhat doubtful. M. Deshayes, indeed, has proposed to sink the genus Gastrochaena, but, with the same view, M. de Blainville would, if both eenera be inadmissible, rather suppress the genus Fistulana, because it was established subsequently to Gastrochoena ; on the whole, however, he prefers its restriction, as in his ' Malacologie,' to its entire suppression. M. Rang observes that two of the species of Fistulana of Lamarck belong, as M. de Blainville correctly deems, to Ga-strochaena, viz., Fistulana clava and Fistulana ampullaria. With regard to the latter, M. Deshayes, who retains it in the genus Fistularia, says, that according to circumstances it forms a free tube sunk in the sand, or, on the contrary, perforates calcareous bodies, its tube then serving as a lining to the cavity it inhabits. In the (irst case, there- fore, this species would belong to Fistulana — in the second case to the genus Gastrochaena, if indeed that genus must be preserved. From all this, it appears that the two genera in question are mere sections of one generic group, by whatever title it may be considered most con- venient to designate that genus. Fig. 3021 represents the Fistulana clava, Sowerby ; Gastrochaena clava, llang and De Blainville. This species is a native of the Indian Seas ; it shrouds itself within a tube, always complete and free, and is found imbedded in sand or hard mud, with the small end of the tube uppermost. Referring to the figures, A represents the tube of this species, which often presents a septum, seen at a; B, the valves of the shell, outside view; C, an internal view of the valves of the shell ; D, apex of tube. We may now turn to that interesting genus Clavagella, which has recently engaged the atten- tion of some of the most scientific zoologists of Europe. This genus was founded by Lamarck on certain fossil species ; and these only for many years were known as the only representative of the form in question. The first discovery of a recent species of Clava- gella is due to Mr. George Sowerby, who detected a specimen enclosed in a mass of stone in the British .Museum. Having obtained permission, he scraped away the stone, and thereby brought into view the shell, which, under the name of Clavagella aperta, the first recorded recent species, he described and figured in his ' Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells.' Soon afterwards, 1827, the same zealous naturalist was enabled to add another recent species to the genus. This was brought home by Mr. Stutchbury, who with some difficulty obtained three specimens at North Harbour, Port Jackson, during his voyage to Australia ; they were imbedded in a siliceous grit, and their presence was betrayed just beneath low-water mark by the jets of water which they forcibly ejected from their tubes. To this species Mr. G. Sowerby gave the name of Clavagella Austral is. In 1829 Mr. Stutchbury detected a Clavagella embedded in a mass of coraline, in the collection of Mr. J. L. Goldsmid, and to this Mr. Broderip gave the name of Clavagella elongata. (See ' Pro- ceeds. Zool. Soc' 1831, p. UG.) Besides these, M. Audouin described a recent species, and M. Rang another, under the title of Clavagella Rapa. (See 'Ann. des So. Nat.' tome xvii. p. 78 ; and Rang'* ' Manuel des MoUusques,' 1829.) On the return of Mr. Cuming from his first voyage, among the valuable collection of that enter- prising conchologist were specimens of Clavagellae submitted to the inspection of Mr. Broderip. Of these one was embedcfed in a fragment of calcareous grit dredged up from a depth ol eleven fathoms, at the island of Mu'Tte, in the Bay of Guayaquil. This is described by Mr, Broderip as the Clavagella lata. (.' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1831.) The other species was from Malta, and is termed Clavagella Melitensis. (' Proceeds. Zool. Soc.') Mr. Broderip observes that " it is not impossible, from its locality, that this may turn out to be M. Audouin's species, if it should prove to be a true Clavagella." (See also ' Trans. Zool. Soc' vol. i.) To these must be added two species from the Mediterranean, described, one, by Delle Chiaje, as Clavagella Sicula ; the other, by Scacchi, as Clava- gella Balanorum. M. Cailliaud, in an admirable paper published in the ' Magasin de Zoologie,' 1842, in which he gives the results of his own personal observations on the species collected in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, refers the Clavagella lata, Brod., and the Clavagella Sicula, to the Clavagella aperta of Sowerby ; the differences being the result of age, &c. If so, the distribution of the same species must be extremely wide. In the ' Trans. Zool. Soc' vol. i. will be found an elaborate paper, by Pro- fessor Owen, on the anatomy of the Clavagella lata, Brod., from the specimen brought home by Mr. Cuming, who carefully placed the animal in spirits soon after its capture. We shall not attempt to follow the Professor through his details, but content ourselves by refer- ring to the specimens at Fig. 3022 : — A, a part of the calcareous grit rock containing the fixed valve and part of the tube of Clavagella lata ; C, an external view of the right or free valve ; D, internal view of the same ; B, the soft parts of the mollusk seen from the right side ; the dermal layer of the mantle, e, being removed ; E, the same seen from the left side, or that which is in contact with the fixed valve. The extremities of the left labial appendage are exposed, no part of the gill being protruded ; a bristle (*) is placed at the opening of the mantle ; a, the anterior wall of the chamber ; b, dorsal wall, the latter placed on the hinge of the fixed valve ; c, the ventral wall ; rf, the posterior or siphonic outlet; e, tubular com- munications with a neighbouring cavity, here set off from the posterior part of the mantle ; e' e' , cal- careous tubes secreted by the above processes and extending into the cavities contiguous to the throat of the tube; c", a cavity communicating with the anterior part of the chamber; f, impression of posterior adductor muscle ; g' , impression of an- terior adductor muscle ; h' , impression of pallial muscle, or third adductor; /, posterior adductor; <7, anterior or smaller adductor ; li, pallial adductor ; i, convex muscular mass, analogous to the muscular margin of the mantle lobes in other mollusks ; k, muscular fibres of siphon; F, I, respiratory or inges- tive siphonic canal ; m, egestive siphonic canal ; n (E), labial appendage; t (B), the gills; x, part of egg-sac ; G, anterior termination of shelly tube. M. Cailliaud gives the following characters of Clavagella : — Shell bivalve, attached to a free tube in the fossil species, but in the living state in- cluded in calcaieous masses or some marine pro- duction ; the anterior part of the tube open, in the form of a ruffled chalice ; the posterior part, exca- vated, oval, containing one valve free and another fixed to its wall ; ligament external. Mr. Broderip observes that we are left to con- jecture the causes which operate to determine the animal in the choice of its abode, if indeed it can be called choice, for most probably Clavagella is the creature of circumstances, and if, soon after ils exclusion from the parent (when Mr. Broderip sup- poses it to be furnished with its two valves only, and to float free with perhaps some voluntary im- pulse), it arrives at the vacant hole of some small Petricola, Lithodomus, or other perforating testa- cean which suits it, one valve soon becomes at- tached to the wall of the hole, and the animal pro- ceeds to secrete the siphonic sheath or tube, to enlarge the chamber according to its necessities, and to form the shelly perforated tubular plate, which is to give admission tothe water at the practicable part of the chamber. Though Mr. Broderip observes that the means by which the excavation i-t carried on are doubtful, he is inclined to attribute it to some solvent secretion of extensive power, the true nature of which is not known. In this opinion Mr. Broderip is followed by M. Cailliaud, who adduces many ingenious and forcible arguments in favour of these views, from facts which have come under his own observation. At Fig 3023 is represented a series of specimens of Clavagella aperta illustrating its growth : a is the right valve of a very young individual; b, the same more advanced, seen in the stone, which has been cut to show the excavated part, and the right valve in situ ; its young tube has six facets and developes its first firnbriation or niffle ; c, the same still further advanced, also in the stone : its young tube has two ruffles ; d, the same greatly increased and seen in the stone : a part of the mollusk is seen under the right valve, and in its excavation ; also the great muscle of the mantle, and the aper- ture whence its small rudimentary foot comes forth. The lower extremity of the tube is laid open, to show the siphons terminating in papillae. The tubes present five ruffles, and the commencement of two others, which the mollusk had not finished. Fig. 3024 is another specimen, which had entered the stone horizontally, and afterwards had prolonged its tube in a perpendicular direction ; Fig. 3025, another specimen. Figs. 3026 and 3027 are two specimens of tne Clavagella Balanorum, imbedded in an aaglomera- tion of Balini (sessile barnacles). A series of little tubes like fibres may be seen binding the animal in the upper figure to the base of stone. M. Cailliaud observes that, both in the living Clavagellac and also in the fossil species, small tubes often co-adapted (accol6s) to each other, are placed in various parts of the cell. M. Rang be- lieved that these served to give passage to so many fasciculi of byssus with which the animal is attached to the bottom of its dwelling. But M. Cailliaud remarks that this supposition cannot be allowed ; for they would be entirely useless to the mollusk, which IS sufficiently attached by its fixed valve. An attentive examination of these little tubes in living Clavagellse has proved to M. Cailliaud that their use was not to afford a passage to the water, as has also been supposed, because in many of the excavations there are neither tubes nor any other communications ; that the animal had no l)yssus ; but that their utility was to fill the vacant spaces which the mollusk meets with in the stone, and which have sometimes been made by other perforating animals. Accordingly we perceive that these tubular reunions are always due to chance : one sometimes sees them at the bottom of the dwelling of the mollusk, sometimes in the walls; wherever in fact there is a necessity for closing up, but never with any fixed character. 'M. Cailliaud goes on to state that one of the most curious facts is the manner in which these small pipes are formed. The epidermis of the great muscle of the mantle is rough, covered with small pustules, wh'nce fleshy filaments, like tentacles, occasionally come forth : these are so many instruments whence the secreting matter is poured out, and with which the mollusk forms those little tubes which are shown in the figure of Clavagella Balanorum. M. Cailliaud had not been able to see them positively in action, when M. Scacchi of Naples twice surprised these animals in the act of introducing these fleshy filaments into the commenced tubes, which they secreted in a short time ; many finished ones were already closed, and when the work was completed these filaments retired into the epidermis of the great muscle, tore- appear again when necessity required their aid. We now pass to the genus Aspergillum (Les Arrosoirs of the French). In this singular genus, the affinities of which were correctly appreciated by Lamarck, we find a mollusk sheathed in an elongated cone, closed at the large end by a disc, pierced with a great number of tubular orifices; the little tubes forming the outer row are the longest, forming a sort of corolla round the disc. At a little dis- tance above this base two small valves incrusted in the substance of the tube are easily distin- guishable. Besides the little tubular processes of the disc, which, it would seem, contribute to sub- port the Aspergillum upright in the sand, into which it is perpendicularly plunged, there is a small open fissure, admitting water into the dwelling, necessary perhaps, in low tides, when the upper extremity of the tube is above the level of the sur- face of the sea. The animals of this genus are borers: some live in the sand, plunged down perpendicularly for about three-fourths of their length ; some burrow in stone, others in wood, and others again in thick shells. Fig. 3028 represents the Javanese Aspergillum, Aspergillum Javanum: a indicates the valves in- crusted in the tube ; b exhibits a front view of the disc. This species is a native of the Indian Ocean. It attains to seven or eight inches in length. Fig. 30J9 represents the Aspergillum vaginife- rum : a, the two valves incrusted in the tube. This species inhabits the Red Sea, and has been found there by M. Riippel. Fig. 3030 represents the Aspergillum Novae Zea- landiae : a, the valves incrusted in the tube ; b, a front view of the disc. This species of Aspergillum occurs on the coast of New Zealand. Here, tlien, we close our sketch of the Conchifera, the Acephalous Bivalve Mollusca ; the leading struc- tural points of which we trust we have not alto- gether failed in explaining. Let it be remembered that we write not for the scientitic zoologist, but for those who desire a general acquaintance with the great groups of the animal creation. t' m \ / w ^ / ^^'' '^S J "^^^hfcii ^mr 1 ~--^ ^^^ / ^' f ;)u83.— CUvagelU ap'iU. 302-*. — lavhgvUa Hptitta. ;:0i8. — Javanese Aspergillum. r^- ^ 30S9.— Atpergillum Ta^nirerum. 3030.— New Ze;iland AspeigUtutn 288 sot}.— CUvagclla ap«rta. ^06, — Clavaj^ellallalnoriim imbedded inBaniade«, i"^lfr.— Cl.iT»gell»Balnorum and liarnailei. S036.— Chelyoeoma Macl,eayanain. 3033.— Dendrodoa gUadaiia. :iO;i4.— Fodi& rubescens. 3047.— IschaditM Konigii. 3Mi.— FyiOfonui giganteam. No. 87. Vol. II. 3046.— Xaii pole of Amaroucium proliferum, magnified. 3046.— Portion of Amaroucium, magnified. 3044.— Amaroucium proliferum. 30S7.— Salpa tiroloiJea. 3040.— Salpa Zonaria. >1.— Botryllaa itellatas, upon Aacidia intestinalu. 3032. — Boltenia reniformis. 3042. — SynoJcum ficus. ;!04J.— Synoicum turpens. 30o9.— Salpa fuaiformis. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] 3033.— Cystingla Grifflthsii. a 289 290 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [TUNICATA. CLASS TUNICATA (Lu Acephalet sons coquiltes of Ciivier ; Acephalo- phora heterobranchiata, De Blainville). The Tuni- cata are raollusks enclosed not in shells, but in a sac or investment of a cartilaginous nature, and more Or less flexible. In the opinion of many naturalists the Tunicata form an intermediate link between the Conchifera, or bi-valve mollusks,onthe one hand, and the Acrifa (Polypes, jelly-fish, &c.) on the other. Their re- lation, says Mr. MacLeay, to the testaceous mol- luaca has been pointed out by Aristotle, Basta, Lin- lueus, Pallas, Cuvier, and Savigny : their relation to the polypes has likewise been shown by Savigny, when he demonstrated that the Alcyonium ficus of Unnsus is nothing else than an aggregation of minute Ascidise combined in a common envelope. Strange and varied are the fcrms under which the Tunicata meet the eye of the naturalist, and diverse are their modes of life. Some, as the Ascidiae, are fixed to the rocks ; others, as the Salpae, are free and swim about ; others, as the Pyrosoma, are aggre- gated together, and form a sort of compound whole, floating with the current of the ocean. Others, again, clustered together and appearing like the rays of a star, as the Botrylli, are adherent to the bodies of other mollusks, or Ascidio! and sea-weeds. See Fig. 3031, a group of Botryllus stellatus upon Ascidia intestinalis. Cuvier divides the Tunicata into two sections : the first comprehends such as are isolated, that is, not organically aggregated to others of the same species, although they are often found clustered together ; the second contains aggregated species, viz. those which are united into a common mass, organically bound together, as we shall find in many of the Acrita, or zoophytes. In order that we may understand the general structure of the isolated Tunicata, let us select the Ascidia as an example. The Ascidiae (divided into several genera and subgenera) are fixed to rocks and stones ; and, ex- cepting by expansions and contractions, and by the forcible ejection of the water, they show but few ex- ternal signs of life. In their appearance there is nothing very attractive ; externally viewed they seem mere fleshy masses, with little to recommend them to our notice ; but beneath this exterior will the zoologist discover a strange and beautiful or- ganization, claiming the most minute scrutiny. Let us suppose one of the fleshy-looking creatures of an oblong or sac-like form (see Fig. 3031, repre- senting two specimens of Ascidia, one anterior to the other), fixed by its base to the surface of the rock. On examining it with a little attention, we shall observe an orifice at its very summit, and below this, again, a branching or prominent part, with an orifice also at its termination. Of these orifices the uppermost is the injestive orifice, leading to a delicate reticulated sac, performing the office of branchiae. The lower or lateral orifice is the ejestive aperture. Now the tunic or outer investment consists of a muscular layer with an epidermic membrane, and a delicate vascular serous lining, which at the orifices is reflected over the body of the enclosed animal ; thus it hangs loosely, as it were suspended, in its sac-like case, by means of the reflected part of this peritoneal tissue. We have said that the upper orifice leads to a delicate respiratoiy sac beneath the outer case or tunic ; this sac is of circumscribed extent, very vas- cular, being covered with a network of vessels of infinite minuteness, and has its inner surface pro- vided with minute and countless vibratile cilia, ever in action, and keeping up a perpetual current in the water imbibed. The external orifice is surrounded by tentacula of great sensitiveness, which ascertain the presence of particles unfit for admission ; the aperture thus rejecting some, but allowing the ingress of others; for, strange to say, the entrance to the oesophagus, that is, the real mouth of the animal, is at the bottom of this branchial sac. It appears that the nutritive particles taken in with the water are deposited on the ciliated surface, which they are made to traverse till they merge into a descending stream, which flows to the cesophagus, and thence into the sto- mach. The stomach is simple, and receives through several orifices the biliary secretion : the liver is a glandular mass adherent to the stomach and ali- mentary canal. The latter is folded upon itself, and terminates, alter emerging from the peritoneal investment, in a cavity communicating with the lateral orifice. The circulating system is simple ; the nervous system at a low degree of development. The egg- sac terminates in the same sac as the alimentary canal. The Ascidiae are found in all seas, and valued in China as articles of food. As an example of the Ascidian family we have already referred to the Ascidia intestinalis (Fig. 3031), and we may enumerate the genera Phallusia, Cynthia, Clavellina, BipapiUaria, &c. To this family must be referred the Boltenia reniformis (Fig. 3032), which presents a somewhat oval body or sac, aflixed to the rock by means of a long slender peduncle. It is found in the northern seas of Ame- rica. Referring to the figure, A is placed at the ejestive orifice ; C, at the branchial orifice ; P, at the peduncle. Another genus is Dendrodoa, MacLeay, of which one species, Dendrodoa glandaria, is given at Fig. 3033 : a represents the animal of the natural size : the base is incrusted with pebbles, and resembles the cup of an acorn ; b, the same seen obliquely, so as to show the top, which is a little compressed. The orifices are minute. In this family the Fodia rubescens (Fig. 3034) is also placed. It is of an oval shape, and is attached to stones by means of a' kind of sucker. It is found on the coasts of North America. We may also here notice the Cystingia Griffithsii, MacLeay (Fig. 3035), which in many particulars approaches the Boltenia. The peduncle is evidently the portion by which the animal is fixed. It is found in the northern seas of America (Winter Island, ' Captain Parry's Third Voyage '). A, the animal of tne natural size, see on the right side ; B, the same magnified, seen on the left side ; a, ejes- tive orifice ; b, branchial orifice ; s, grains of sand externally incrusting the thick end of the pe- duncle. It is, perhaps, to this family that we must refer that singular animal the Chelyosoma MacLeayanum, Brod., a native of the Arctic seas, where it is found adhering to stones. The coriaceous envelope is lami- nated above, and modified into divisions like the back shell of a tortoise ; and consists of eight some- what horny angular plates, of which three surround the branchial orifice, and four the other. This spe- cies is represented at Fig. 3036 : a, side view ; b, seen from above ; c, the interior of the upper plate. Another family of the Tunicata is that of the Sal- paceans (Les Biphores, Brug. ; Thalia, Brown ; Salpa and Dagysa, Gmel.). This family compre- hends numerous species, many of which are so transparent that it is not always easy to discern them in a body of sea-water. They are free, not fixed, and are enclosed in a gelatinous cartilaginous tunic, of an oval or cylindrical form, and open at both extremities : that at the posterior extremity is large and furnished with a valve, which permits the entrance of the water, but prevents its exit, which takes place only at the anterior orifice. Hence by a series of dilatations and contractions, the water entering at one orifice, and being forcibly expelled at the other, the animals propel themselves along, the hind part foremost. Within the tubular cavity or canal through which the water passes is a vas- cular riband, attached by both its extremities to the walls of the canal, so that it is perpetually laved by the current as it passes ; this vascular riband is the branchial apparatus. The viscera occupy a small cavity between the canal and the dorsal portion of the tunic near the mouth, which opens adjacent to the upper extremity of the branchial riband. In many species the tunic exhibits the most brilliant colours of the rainbow, while its trans- parence permits the internal parts to be perfectly visible. The most extraordinary fact in the history of these yet imperfectly understood mollusks is that stated by Charaisso. According to this observer, Salpae are found swimming in chains, the individuals com- prising the chain adhering to each other apparently by means of minute suckers, but probably without organic union. These adherent Salpae give birth to individuals of very different form, which are always isolated, but which produce concatenated Sal pie, and these concatenated Salpse again produce iso- lated beings, and so on in alternate succession, ge- neration after generation. Cuvier, who quotes Cha- migso, says, " It is certain that in some species may be seen young individuals in the interior of their parents, adhering together by means of a sort of minute sucker, and differing in form from the ani- mals containing them." We have still much to learn of the economy of organic beings 1 The Sal- paceans are found in the Mediterranean and the hotter latitudes of the ocean. Many are beautifully phosphorescent. Among the genera of this family may be mentioned Holothuria, Monophorus, Phyl- liroe, &c. Referring to our pictorial specimens. Fig. 3037 represents the Salpa firoloVdea (genus Timoriensis, Quoy and Gaim.). It does not appear to be con- catenated : the anterior extremity is very elongated and pointed. It is found in the seas of Timor, &c. Fig 3038 represents the Salpa polymorpha, Quoy and Gaim. It is angular and recurved, with the terminal orifices very much approximated. Whether it becomes concatenated or not is yet to be ascer- tained. The species is figured in two views. Fig. 3039 represents one of the concatenated spe- cies, Salpa fusiformis, of which several are shown united together. The concatenated Salpis form chains, often of many yards in length, ana, as they are subject to the undulation of the waves, float along with a serpentine motion ; the contractions of each individual are synchronous, and thus the chain winds its way over the surface of the sunlit ocean, like a long-drawn riband of silver. Fig. 3040 represents the Salpa Zonaria, also one of the agglutinated species. The upper specimen shows several individuals united together, and below are two individuals disunited. We may now pass to the Aggregated Tunicata, Les Aggreges of Cuvier. The Aggregated Tunicata are not united to each other by mere agglutination, but are conglomerated together into a single organic mass — a compound unity, and in this respect remind us of the coral polypes. Nevertheless it would appear from the observations of MM. Audouin and Milne Edwards, that the individuals of which any aggregated mass consists were produced from the egg distinct, and that they lived thus and swam about, not unlike tadpoles in form, vibrating a slender tail. After- wards, however, at a certain period of their exist- ence, they undergo a sort of metamorphosis, and numbers uniting together constitute one aggregated whole. In structure they approach more or less to the Ascidian mollusks. Some, however, as the Botrylli, with an opening at each extremity, may be regarded as aggregated Salpae. In the genus Botryllus the separated animals are of an oval form, and ten or twelve united together form a sort of star, which is fixed upon other bodies, and often on the Ascidiae. The branchial orifices are at the extremity of the rays of the star, and the other orifices open into a common cavity in its centre. If the orifice of one individual be irritated, that animal exclusively contracts ; but if the centre be touched, all contract together. Referring to Fig. 3031, several stars of the Botryllus stellatus are seen on a specimen of Ascidia intestinalis, a; 2> re- presents one of the stars or discs magnified. Another group is represented by Pyrosoma, cele- brated for its phosphorescence. These singular creatures present the appearance of a simple gelatinous tube, rather larger at one end than the other. The tube varies in different species from one to six inches in length ; it is hollow, with a distinct aperture at the larger end, and, as Cuvier and Rang say, closed at the other. Mr. George Bennett, however, describes the tube as open at both ends, the orifice at the smaller extremity being more contracted than that at the other. Now the substance of this tube, if examined, will be found to consist of a multitude of buds, or gem- mules, closely set together in a common gelatinous tissue ; these buds are all distinct animals, each with its branchial orifice and viscera, and thus or- ganically united, the tubular aggregation swims on the sea, by the combined contractions and dilations of the multitude working in unison, a continuous stream of water being propelled through the tube. Several species are deswibed, as P. Atlanticum, P. elegans, P. giganteum, &c. Enveloped in a flame of bright phosphorescent light, and gleaming with a greenish lustre, the Pyrosoma presents a most bril- liant appearance, and when seen at night in vast shoals upwards of a mile in breadth, and stretching out till lost in the distance, the glory of the spec- tacle may be easily imagined. The vessel, as it cleaves the gleaming mass, throws up strong flashes of light, as if ploughing through a liquid fire, which illuminates the hull, the sails, and the ropes with a strange unearthly radiance. After death the splendour of the Pyrosoma van- ishes, and gives place to a dull pale yellowish white. Fig. 3041 represents the Pyrosoma giganteum; a, a portion magnified. Another group or family of this section, compre- hending several genera, as Polyclinum, Synoicum, &c., presents us with species forming by aggregation fleshy masses, incrusting or rooted upon other bodies : some are elevated, the distinct animals forming branches ; others have a sponge or fungus- like figure. Fig. 3042 represents the Synoicum ficus: a, a portion highly magnified, showing the several indi-' viduals. Fig. 3043 represents the Synoicum tur-' gens. Both are natives of the European seas. Fig. 3044 represents an example of the genus Amaroucium, namely, A. proliferum, of the natural size. It is found along the coasts of the British Channel. Fig. 3045 represents a portion of the Amaroucium proliferum magnified. We have already said that the young of the Aggregated Tunicata are free and independent, and not unlike the tadpole of the frog in form, though of extreme minuteness. Fig. 3046 represents the young of the Amaroucium proliferum highly mag- CiRRHOPODA.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 291 nified : a, the tegumentary body of the trunk, which is seen within; b, the pouch or tunic enclosing the body of the young animal, which is surrounded by a nutritive vitelline fluid; b", appendages termi- nating in suckers and enabling the animal to fix itself; a*, the tail, formed by a prolongation of the tegumentary investment, and enclosing a tubular appendage of the vitelline sac. This tail is cast off when the animals quit the larva state and assume their sessile and aggregated condition. It is to Milne Edwards that we owe our know- ledge of the metamorphoses of these singular ani- mals. See 'Ann. des Sci. Nat.' 1828, tom. xv., p. 10, and also the paper by Milne Edwards enti- tled ' Observations sur les Ascidies composees, des Cotes de la Manche,' read before the French Aca- demy of Sciences, November 11, 1839, in which the physiology of these interesting animals is deeply investigated. Fig. 3047 represents a fossil from- the lower Ludlow rock, regarded as belonging to the Asci- dian Tunicata. Mr. Murchison remarks that these curious fossils are so grouped together, that he always compared them with packed or baked figs, and he says that Mr. Konig, to whom he referred them, thus speaks of them :— " I am of opinion that they may be con- sidered to belong to the family of the Ascidiae. . . . They seem to form a group of globular cariceous, and, if may be added, pedicled bodies, for in one of them the cicatrix (or mark) for the insertion of the pedicle distinctly appears. As, however, no traces of branchial or other apertures are to be found on the surface exposed to view, it would be rash to constitute this fossil a genus, or assign it a place in any of the known genera of naked mollusca." It is the Ischadites Konigii of Mr. Murchison. CLASS BRACHIOPODA, Cuv. (Palliobranckiaia, De Blainville, Owen, &c.) The class Brachiopoda, or Palliobranchiata, includes three groups, Tcrebratula, Lingula, and Orbicula, of which the species are all tenants of a bi-valve shell ; but they difier so essentially from the ordi- nary mollusca of bi-valve shells, that their separation into a distinct class is abundantly justified. In common with the Barnacles, or Bernicles, the spe- cies of Lingula and Terebratula are affixed by means of a fleshy tubular pedicle to submarine bodies. In Orbicula, on the contrary, the pedicle is wanting, as in the Balani, and the lower valve of the shell be- comes itself the medium by which the attachment of the animal to the rock is effected. In Lingula and Terebratula, the larger of the two shells is pierced at its summit or umbo for the passage of the pedicle. The body of these moUusks within the shell is covered with a delicate mantle, lining the inside of the valves, and this mantle, which is traversed by blood-vessels, and furnished, especially along its edge, with vibratile cilia, constitutes the respiratory apparatus, whence the term Palliobranchiata (Pal- lium, a mantle), mantle-gilled. In addition to this singularity of structure, the organs for procuring food offer many remarkable structural peculiaritie*. They consist of two long spiral arms, one on each side of the mouth, and in many species these are capable not only of being unrolled, but extended beyond the shell to a great distance in quest of food. They are usually furnished with numerous vibratory filaments for the more certain capture of the prey. They also appear to act as oars, enabling the animal slightly to alter its position. It is to these arms that Cuvier's title Brachiopoda alludes. In Terebratula the two valves are unequal, one being more convex than the other, and pierced at its apex with an orifice for the transmission of the peduncle, by which the animal is moored to stones, corals, &c. The other valve is flatter and imper- forate, and presents us on its inner surface with a curious framework of shelly matter, consisting of a slender calcareous loop, fixed at its extremities to the lateral ridges of the hinge. This loop at first advances, and is then suddenly bent back upon itself, and at this point is attached to two processes, branching off from a raised line or ridge, running down the centre of the valve. This remarkable framework serves as a defence to the viscera, and as a support to the arms, which are fringed with long cilia. In some species, as T. chilensis and T. trun- cata, the arms are not extensile ; but in T. Psittacea, of which Professor Owen, in the 'Trans. Zool. Soc.,' vol. i., gives an admirable account, the arms are enormously developed, fringed along their outer margins, and quite free except at their origin. In their retracted state they are disposed in six or seven spiral folds, but when stretched forth extend beyond the shell to twice its length. fhe mechanism by which these arms are unfolded is simple, yet curious. The stem of each arm is Vot II. tubular, and contains a fluid, which, acted upon by a multitude of muscles, forming the walls of the canal, and arranged spirally, is forced onwards up the tube, and thus the arm is expanded and protruded through the gaping valves. The arms of these animals are essentially service- able in procuring food, and having nothing to do, gill-like as they appear, with respiration or the re- novation of the circulating fluids, for their cilia have horny texture, and do not exhibit any high degree of vascularity. Their object is by their movements to produce a current of water to the mouth, which hurries with it the nutritive particles with which the fluid is charged. We may here notice some re- markable muscular peculiarities in Terebratula. Two pairs of muscles arise from each valve, those of the imperforate valve at a distance from each other; one pair arise near the centre of the valve, and these converging unite below the stomach ; these then divide and pass through the foramen of the perforate valve, to be inserted into the pedicle. The other pair are short and fleshy, and arise from depressions near the centre of the hinge ; they are also inserted into the pedicle. Of the perforate valve the muscles arise close together, so as to leave impressions on each side of a supposed median line ; one pair is inserted into the pedicle, the others are adductors of the valves, and merely pass from the one to the other. Fossil Terebratulse are extremely numerous, and occur in abundance in some of the older strata to the supracretaceous group. The recent species are numerous, and widely dift'used from the equinoctial to the polar seas. The depth at v^hich they are found varies from ten to ninety fathoms. Of the different variations of form presented by Terebratula and its subgenera our pictorial speci- mens will give a good idea. Fig. 3043 represents the shell of Terebratula di- gona ; the border is straight, as if cut oft". It is only found in a fossil state. Fig. 3049 is the shell of Terebratula globosa : a living species. Fig. 3050 shows the valves of Terebratula dorsata ; on the inner surface of one of which is seen the loop. It is one of the recent species. Fig. 3051 is a fossil species, Terebratula deformis. Fig. 3052 is another fossil species, Terebratula alata. Fig. 3053 is Terebratula rubra, a recent species. Fig. 3054 is the Terebratula Caput Serpentis, a recent species. Fig. 3055 is the Terebratula Lyra, known as fos- sil only. Fig. 3056, Terebratula canalifera, fossil. Fig. 3057 is the Strigocephalus Burtini, fossil. Fig. 3058 is the Spirifer trigonalis, fossil. Fig. 3059 is the Magas pumilus, fossil. Fig. 3060 is the Producta Martini, fossil. In the genus Magas the system of support is be- ginning to disappear, and in Producta the lower valve is not perforated at its summit, but is divided into two equal parts by a distinct transverse suture. (See Martin's Petrificata Derbiensia, t. 22, fig. 1,2, 3.) It is here, perhaps, as a link between Terebratula and Orbicula, that the genera Thecideum and Stropho- mena will range. The genus Thecideum is characterized by the shell being equilateral, but very inequivalve : one valve is hollowed, the heel or hook recurved and entire, without fissure ; the other fiat, and without trace of internal support. The animal is unknown, but probably resembles that of Orbicula. One living species (Th. mediterraneum) is found in the Mediter- ranean. Fig. 3061 represents Thecideum radiatum ; a, the natural size. In the genus Strophomena.the shell is subequi- valve ; one valve is flat, the other somewhat exca- vated. There is no trace of an internal support. No living species. Fig. 3062 represents the Stro- phomena rugosa. We now turn to the genus Lingula. In this genus the pedicle is very long, cartilagi- nous, and nearly cylindrical. The testaceous valves are somevfhat elongated, compressed, truncated an- teriorly, and acted upon by adductor muscles ob- liquely placed. On opening the valves the animal appears enclosed between two delicate membranes, forming the mantle. The margins of this mantle are thickened and fringed with delicate vibratile cilia. The mouth opens at the summit of a promi- nence, and on each side spread out the arms, which are fleshy, flat, and fringed ; when contracted they roll up in a spiral manner, and can be uncoiled and protruded to a considerable extent from the shell. The Lingula is generally supposed to be moored or attached by its peduncle, but in the specimen of L. Audebardii, examined by Professor Owen, there was no trace of the adhesion of any foreign body to the extremity of the peduncle. Fig. 3063 represents the Lingula anatina, a native of the Indian seas. The valves are thin, horny, and greenish. We now turn to the genus Orbicula. In Orbicula there is no peduncle ; and the two valves differ in form and size. One is conical and rounded, somewhat resembling the shell of a limpet, and has been regarded as a Patella by the oWer writers. The other valve is flat, with a fissure in the centre, for the passage of a ligament by means of which it is fixed to the rocks. As in Lingula, the mollusk has ciliated arms, rolled up spirally when withdrawn. Fig. 3064 represents the Orbicula lamellosa. The cilia of the mantle appear protruded through the valves. The recent species of this genus are found attached to stones, shells, and sunken wrecks, at va. rious depths to seventeen fathoms. The Orbicula lamellosa is a native of the coasts of Peru ; it was found by Mr. Cuming in groups, the individuals being in many instances piled in layers one over the other, on a sandy bottom at a depth ranging from five to nine fathoms. At Ancon they were found attached to dead shells, and also clinging to the wreck of a Spanish vessel, of about three hundred tons, which went down in the bay about twelve years ago. The sunken timbers (for the sheathing was gone to decay) were covered with these shells much in the same way that beams on land are some- times invested with flat parasitic fungi. At Inqui- qui they were taken adhering to a living Mytilus. See ' Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1833, p. 124, and also 'Trans. Zool. Soc' i., for descriptions by Mr. Bro- derip of several new species of Terebratula, Orbi- cula, and Lingula. Fossil species occur in the green-sand, oolite, and carboniferous limestone. The genus Crania is placed here by most zoolo- gists. The upper valve is patelliform, the lower valve is attached by its outside, the greater part of it being generally extended over the substance to which it adheres. There are four muscular impres- sions on each valve. Fig. 3065 represents the Crania personata, the only living species known. It dwells at great depths, adhering to stones and shells ; and has been dredged up in two hundred and fifty-five fathoms of water. Fossil species of this genus are found in the chalk. Referring to Fig. 3065, a shows the shell viewed ex- ternally ; b and c, inside views of the flat and con- cave valves. In the 'Trans. Zool. Soc.,' vol. i., is an admirable paper on the Brachiopoda, by Professor Owen, to which we have already alluded ; and to which we refer our readers for more full and minute details. Here perhaps we ought to close the subkingdom Mollusca, or Heterogangliata, Owen ; for the singu- lar group of animals upon the general history of which we are about to enter, though referred to the Mollusca by Cuvier and preceding zoologists, cannot but be regarded as coming within the pale of the Crustacea, between which and the Annelids it ap- pears to form a link of union. Cuvier, who was well acquainted with the nervous system of the animals of the group in question, namely, the Cirrhopods or Cirripeds (bernicles, acorn-shells, Sec), observes that they constitute in many respects an interme- diate link between the Mollusca and the Articulata (crabs and other Crustacea) ; yet we incline to the views of Martin-Saint-Ange, who considers their situation to be between the Crustacea and Annelids — and were we devoting this work to an exposition of the scientific arrangement of the animal kingdom, such would be the station in which we would place them. As this, however, is not our object, and as zoologists are divided in their views on the subject, we shall treat of them as a class per se, and leave their situation open, only observing that while Mar- tin-Saint-Ange considers them as Annelidian Crus- tacea, M. de Blainville regards them as Crustaceous Mollusks. CLASS CIRRHOPODA. The Cirrhopoda (Cirrhipeda, Cirripeda, or Cirri- pedia) were all included by Linnaeus in the genus I.epas, and placed among the Multivalves of his Vermes, between Chiton and Pholas; and when we reflect that their anatomy was not understood, we shall not be surprised at his arrangement. This class may be divided into two great sections, viz. the Pe- dunculated Cirrhopods (Campylosomata, Leach,) and the Sessile Cirrhopods (Acamptosomata, Leach). All are marine ; in figure more or less conical ; often compressed, and enclosed in a shell, of variable form, and composed of many pieces, either soldered or not soldered together. In one case only there is no true shell, but a soft envelope in lieu of it. The shell, or its representative, is either adherent to fo- reign bodies by the intervention of a fleshy peduncle issuing from the mantle, or is sessile and without a peduncle. Within the shell the body is invested with a sort of mantle, open on one side. There is no distinct head ; no eyes, and no true tentacula ; but from the apical portion of the body emerge a certain number of jointed and ciliated cirrhi. The 2P2 sow Pmdnctt Mulini. 30M '-Tctelntala dijiona. Sfij«,_Tcrrfant>la canaltr«n. S03» — Sjiirifrr tri^nalis. tost.— TerabratoU altU. 'irvV 3050.— Terebratula dorsat . 0- 306t«— Thecidiom ndiatnin. S(M3,_Iinf^a anatina. SO^^O.-^Magaa putnilis. 3055.— TeTCbratuU Lyra. 80M<— Tetebntula Caput S«ip«ntis. 3055. — Crania personata. 3053.— Terebratula rubra. 3057.— SWgocephalos BuTtini. tow.— StMplianiena mgota. SOM.— OiUcuU UmeUoui. 3049.— Terebratula glohoaa. 3051 . — Terebratula deftirmis. 292 3080.— Seal pell um vulgare. 3079.— PoUiceps Mitella. 3082.— Lytbotiya dotsalis. 067 to 3070.— Anatomy of Bernicle. ;3077.— Gjinnolepas vittata. ./7T\ 3081. — Valves of Scalpelltim vulgarc. 3076.— Gymaolepas Cuvieri. 3075,— Alepas j>arasita. 3078,— Duck Bemicle. 8071 (o 8074.— Anatomy of Bernicle. 3066. — Common'Bemicle. 293 294 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Bernicles. mouth is furnished with later*! horny, tithed, and ar- ticulated jaw». The branchi* are on each side of the base of the first cirrhi. The nervous system con- liists of a double cordon, with Kani;lia, giving off llbres to every part. But leaving these eeneraliia- tions, let us take one of these animals and examine it, with a view to a more clear ami definite idea of the ?roup in question. We will take the Common Bprnicle, Penlalasmis anatifera (I,epas anatifera, Linn.). The Bernicle, Fig. 30(>G, is widely spread, anl clustei-s of these strange creatures may be seen adherent to floating logs of wood, the timbers of wrecked vessels, the sides of rocks, and other ob- jects alTording a secure attachment. Each indivi- dual consists of a body enclosed in a shell, not unlike that of a mussel in figure, and of a fleshy worm-like •tern or peduncle, the extremity of which is fixed to the object upon which the animal is stationed. This stem is tubular, tolerably firm, and has a fleshy feel ; it is composed exteriorly of a fine coriaceous outer membrane, bedewed with a watery fluid, and be- neath this, of an inner membrane of considerable density, apparently consisting of muscular fibres, running for the most part in parallel longitudinal lines. That these fibres are muscular we may con- clude from the animal having the power of contract- ing the stem, or of twisting it in various directions. Within the tube there is a fluid secretion. The body, as we have said, is enclosed in a shell ; and this shell is composed of five pieces. Four pieces are lateral, two on each side ; while between the valves down the back is interposed a single nar- row slip uniting them together. Their colour is white, more or less tinged with purplish blue. .\long the anterior margin the valves are but par- tially''c'>nnected by membrane, leaving a large fis- sure, through which emerge the plumose and jointed arms or cirrhi. Removing the shell so as to expose the body, we find it enveloped in a fine membranous mantle ; at its apical portion are the jointed cirrhi in two rows, each row consisting of six pairs of these appendages, and each rises from a single stem or footstalk at the base. The apical pairs are the longest ; the othei-s decrease in rotation. They are based on decided articulations of the body, and the shortest pair are regarded by some as the analogues of the jaw-feet (pieds-machoires) of Crustacea. In each of the cirrhi is a double canal, for establishing a circulat- ing current, traversing all their joints. Between the base of the shortest cirrhi, or pieds-miichoires, are certain pyramidal fleshy appendages, like the radii of a minute starfish, and which are regarded as bran- chiae, though the cirrhi are also, perhaps, aerating organs. The mouth is placed at the lower part of the fis- sure through which the cirrhi are protruded, and terminates a raised tubercle or prominence. It is furnished with a horny lip, having minute palpi, and with three pairs of mandibles, of which the two external are horny and serrated, the internal soft and membranous. In these triple jaws, we trace a decided analogy to the Crustacea, while the cirrhi represent the true and false limbs of these animals, and the fleshy appendages their branchiae. From the symmetrical arrangement of the cirrhi we might expect to find a similar disposition of the nervous system, and accordingly, as in Crustacea, we find it homogangliate— that is, composed of ganglia or knots, and symmetrical nervous threads. Four oeso- phageal ganglia give origin to four nervous cords proceeding to the muscles and viscera. A double cord, connected by ganglia, is continued down the ventral aspect of the body, supplying the cirrhi. The mouth leads to a short firm oesophagus, which receives a supply of saliva from two large glands, and enters a capacious stomach with sacculated walls, and surrounded by the liver — a mass of minute sacculi : the alimentary canal is simple ; it runs along the dorsal aspect of the body, and terminates at the root of a tail-like prolongation, between the two longest cirrhi. The food of the Bernicles consists of small Crus- tacea and raollusks; these are entangled by the many-jointed plumose cirrhi, which are perpetually thrown out and folded again, so as to serve the pur- pose of a casting net, and drag the prey to the mouth, where it is seized and crushed. Of the blood-vessels little is known. With regard to the reproduction of these creatures, the eggs are seen enclosed at certain times within the hollow of the peduncle, where they appear of a blue colour, and render the pedicle opaque ; from this they pass through a minute conduit into the cavity of the mantle, where they are arranged like two leaflets, attached to the septum between the body and the peduncle. They are enclosed in a film, out of which they fall when ready to hatch. At first these leaflets of eggs are small, and blue; as they increase, they lose that tint and assume a tinge of pink, and at last become nearly white. We may now turn to our specimens. Figs. 3067 to 3074 are illustrative of the organization of the Bernicles. They are from a shell-less species of the genus Alepas. Fig. 3067 : A is a gelatinous production of the homy envelope which serves to attach the peduncle. B', a small individual affixed, as is often seen, to the pedicle of the parent. B, the first membrane of the pedicle. C, the convex part, containing the body of the animal. D, the fissure from which the cirrhi protrude. F, the cirrhi. E, the termination of the pedicle, where the eggs stop. G, the eggs arrived within the mantle. Fig. 3068, the same letters refer to the same parts as in Fig. 3067. H, the part of the feet which sus- tains the cirrhi. Fig. 3069, the same, with the interior more ex- posed. e,e, the canal which carries off the peduncle within the mantle ; b, a nutrient vessel to the pe- duncle and eggs ; g, g, the membrane of the mantle, which intercepts direct communication between the peduncle and the cavity of the mantle. J repre- sents the body enclosed in its proper envelope. Fig. 3070, the same more displayed. B, B, the muscular tube open, in which the eggs are seen. e, e, the course of the egg-duct in the thickness of the second envelope : g, g, g, the envelope opened and turned back. J, J, J, the proper membrane of the body of the animal. It is between this mem- brane and that of the envelope, ff, g', that the eggs are found. Fig. 3071, a side view of the Common Bernicle (Pentalasmis anatifera) taken out of the shell, en- veloped in its proper membrane. V, the cervical ganglion ; t/, the nerve which is given off from it to go to the muscles of the skin. J, the two levator muscles of the lower lip. K, K, branchiae ; /(, a horny tubercle on each side of the egestive orifice. U', the extremity of the articulated tube, tipped with fine hairs. It contains a canal opening at its extremity by a minute orifice, and receives at its base two vesiculae. Fig. 3072, anterior view of the same, showing the articulated disposition of the body, each ring of which corresponds to a pair of feet. S, the adductor muscle of the valves; F, the cirrhi. Fig. 3073, the digestive apparatus. D, the mouth ; d, the oesophagus ; d', the stomach ; d", the little tube communicating with a kind of sacculus, rf'", of the same structure as the stomach. T, alimentary canal ; h, terminal aperture. U U, certain vesiculae, uniting in a single canal and terminating at U' by a small orifice. Fig. 3074, disposition of the nervous system. 1, first oesophageal ganglion, with branches, v, v', r", destined to muscles of the dorsal part. V, salivary glands supplied by a minute nerve. Z, nervous ganglia ; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, other ganglia giving nerves to the feet ; g' and y, two threads given to the arti- culated or caudal tube ; x corresponds to the centre of the oesophagus, which has been removed. It is from Mr. Thompson that we learn the ex- traordinary fact that the young bernicles and other Cirrhopods on emerging from the egg are quite free, and very different from their parents. They possess locomotive organs, consisting of a large anterior pair of limbs, provided with a sucker, and hooks for the purpose of mooring themselves at pleasure to various objects — and also of six pairs of swimming- limbs, acting in concert like oars. Besides these they have a tail bent under the body, consisting of two joints and terminating in four bristles ; this is an additional locomotive organ. Thus endowed they swim along in a series of bounds, the oars and tail going in measured time successive impulses. They have, moreover, large lateral eyes set on peduncles, and the body is covered with a sort of shell, as we see in certain Crustacea (Cyclops, &c.), which they closely resemble, and for which Mr. Thompson ait first mistook them. In due time a metamorphosis takes place ; the shell is thrown off, the eyes disappear, the limbs become transformed to cirrhi, the regular valves develop themselves, the peduncle shoots forth, and the animal becomes permanently fixed. Believing these little creatures to be the larvae of some crustaceous animal, .some of them, says Mr. Thompson, "were collected in the spring of 1826, and. in order to see what changes they might undergo, were kept in a glass vessel, covered by such a depth of sea-water that they could he examined at any time by means of a common mag- nifying glass; they were taken May 1, and on the night of the 8th the author had the satisfaction to find that two of them had thrown off their exuviae, and, wonderful to say, were firmly adhering to the bottom of the vessel and changed to young bar- nacles, such as are usually seen intermixed with grown specimens on rocks and stones at this season of the year (Balanus pusillus, Penn.). In this stage the sutures between the valves of the shell and of the operculum were visible, and the move- ments of the arms of the animal within, although these last were not yet completely developed ; the eyes also were still perceptible, although the prin- cipal part of the colouring-matter appeared to have been thrown off with the exuvium (exuviie). On the 10th another individual was seen in the act of throwing off its shell, and attaching itself as the others to the bottom of the glass. It only remains to add, that as the secretion of the calcareous matter goes on in the compartments destined for the valves of the shelly covering, the eyes gradually disappear, from the increasing opacity thence produced, and the visual ray is extinguished for the remainder of the animal's life ; the arms at the same time acquire their usual ciliated appearance. Thus then an animal originally natatory and loco- motive, and provided with a distinct organ of sight, becomes permanently and immovably fixed, and its optic apparatus obliterated ; and furnishes not only a new and important physiological fact, but is the only instance in nature of so extraordinary a meta- morphosis. "During the whole of the spring and summer months the water teems with these exuviae of Tritones (the animal inhabitant, according to LinnsDUs, of the barnacles) : it is impossible to avoid drawing up numbers every time a towing-net is thrown out ; nay, the tide is at times discoloured from their abundance ; but to be certain that these are really such, let a stone with several barnacles upon it be kept in sea-water, regulaily renewed, towards the latter end of April or the beginning of May, and with due attention many of them may be observed in the act of throwing off exuviae in every respect identical ; let it be recollected however that these are the casts of the animal alone, and not of the valves of the shell, or of the operculum." These researches were followed up by Mr. Thompson, and in a paper read before the Royal Society on the 5th of March, 1835, he detailed his discovery of similar transformations in the young of the pedunculated Barnacles (see ' Phil. Trans.' PI. II. 1835). His first observations have been confined to the young of the sessile Balani. The following is an abstract of the paper : — "The larvae of this tribe, like those of the Balani, have the external appearance of bivalve monoculi, furnished with locomotive organs, in the form of three pairs of members ; the most anterior of which are simple, and the other bifid. The back of the animal is covered by an ample shield, terminating anteriorly in two extended horns, and posteriorly in a single elongated spinous process. Thus they possess considerable powers of locomotion, which, with the assistance of an organ of vision, enable them to seek their future permanent place of residence. The author is led from his researches to the conclusion that the Cirripedes do not constitute, as modern naturalists have considered them, a distinct class of animals, but that they occupy a place intermediate between the Crustacea decapoda — with which the Balani have a marked affinity — and the Crustacea entomostraca, to which the Lepades are allied ; and that they have no natural affinity with the testaceous mollusca, as was sup- posed by Linnaeus, and all the older systematic writers on zoology." With respect to the inference deduced, viz., that these animals are not related to the testaceous mol- lusca, there is, as we have said, much difference of opinion, but the point at issue we shall not attempt to moot. Turning first to the Bernicles, or pedun- culated species, we may observe that they are widely spread, and adhere to submarine bodies in consider- able numbers. They have been found not only on floating wood, the hulls of ships, bottles, and other articles drifting about, but on shells, on turtles, whales, and even sea-snakes. We have seen a large log of timber completely covered by them, so that it was hidden entirely ; to see thousands of these creatures all compacted in close array, writh- ing and twisting about, was a singular spectacle ; it reminded us of Medusa's head, serpaitibus lior- ridum. It would appear that the growth of these animals is very rapid, for a ship perfectly free from them will otten return after a short voyage covered with them below the water-line. The negroes of Goree are said to eat a large species of Pentalasmis, which it is reported is of delicate flavour. We may now turn to our pictorial specimens illustrative of the genera into which the peduncu- lated group is divided, and first we notice Alepas. In the genus Alepas the general figure of the body is oval and compressed. There is no shell, it». place being taken by a subgelatinous and somewhat transparent envelope, continuing itself with the pe- duncle. The individual on which M. Rang founded the genus was attached to the umbrella of a Me- dusa. Fig. 3075 represents the Alepas parasita. The next genus, Gyranolepas, is divided by Dr. Leach into two subgenera, Otion and Cineras. The pedicle is long, the shell merely rudimentary. In Otion there are two auriform tubes attached to the outer investment of the body. Fig. 307G represents the Otion Cuvieri (Gymnolepas Cuvieri). It is a I Beunicles.] MUSEUM OF- ANIMATED NATURE. 295 native of the wanner parts of the ocean, and has been received from the coasts of Senegal. In the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons is a fine group of these animals attached to a large sessile species (Coronula diadema) which is a parasite of the South Sea whale: a, the animal attached ; b, the small lateral valves; c, the single valve; d, the terminal valves. In Cineras there are no auriform tubes, and the form is more angular. Fig. 3077 represents the Cineras vittata (Gymnolepas vittata): a, the ani- mal; t, the lateral valves; c, the single valve; d, the terminal valves. This species is a native of the Indian seas. In the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons there is an allied species termed Cineras Hunterij of which two small groups are attached to the tail of a sea-snake (Hydrophis bicolor). We turn next to the genus Pentalasmis (Anatafa, La- marck ; Pentalepos, De Blainville). In this genus the shell is well developed, and consists of five pieces: the peduncle is'elongated. Fig. 3078 is the Common or Duck Bernicle, Pen- talasmis Anatifera (Lepas Anatifera, Linnaeus), which is also represented at Fig. 3066. This species is widely spread, being carried at- tached to floating objects from sea to sea. On the coast of Africa it is very abundant. It is this species which was formerly regarded, not only by the ignorant, but even by men of education, as the young of a species of goose, into which it ul- timately became transformed. An account of this absurd error is given in our notice of the Bernicle Goose (Anser Bemicla) in vol. ii. p. 51. It affords one proof, amongst many others, of the general ignorance which formerly prevailed, and which is but now passing away, with respect to the laws of organic life. Nature was then but little studied, nor can we wonder that those who believed in witchcraft, necromancy, and astrology should readily credit the tale of bernicles turning into geese, at- tested as it was by so many authorities. The story would class well in the Metamorphoseon of Ovid, with those of the coral turning to stone, of snakes produced from the spinal chord of human bodies, and of hornets bred from dead horses. The genus PoUicipes next requires our notice. The animal resembles Pentalasmis, but the pedicle is shorter, and rough like shagreen ; the shell is tri- angular, and, besides the principal side valves, is furnished with a number of accessory pieces fixed at their base ; they are marked with transverse striae, and are pointed. Fig. 3079 represents the PoUi- cipes Mitella, a native of the warmer seas. AUied to the preceding genus is that termed Scalpellum (Polylepas, De Blainville). In this form the peduncle or pedicle is short and scaly. The shell consists of thirteen pieces, six of which on each side form a sort of composite valve, and between these valves is the dorsal piece. Fig. 3080 repre- sents the Scalpellum vulgare, common in the seas of Europe, attached to fronds, corals, &c.- — a group of four are given thus affixed. Fig. 3081 is a view of the composite valves. An allied species is found in the Straits of Magel- haens. The next genus is regarded by Mr. Sowerby as intermediate between the sessile and peduncu- lated cirrhopods ; its shell is regular, subpyramidal, and compressed ; the valvular pieces are eight, with a shelly plate at the base analogous to that of Balanus. The peduncle is tendinous. This genus is termed Lithotrya by Mr. Sowerby, a title which M. de Blainville has changed, we know not why, for Litholepas; though he quotes Mr. Sowerby's description, and states that he has never seen the animal. The Lithotrya dorsalis (Fig. 3082) is remarkable for living embedded in stones, the valves only ap- pearing externally ; but whether it perforates holes for itself, or occupies those which have been worked out by some raollusk, is not at present determined. It has been found at Montserrat, one of the Antilles. Cuvier in his ' Rcgne Animal ' notices a genus called by him Tefralasmis, in which the valves are four only in number, and the peduncle, which is large, is covered with hairs. The species he describes as Tetralasmis hirsutus. I^eaving the Pedunculated Cirrhopods, let us now turn to those which are sessile. The Balani, or acorn-shells (Les Glandes de Mer) essentially agree with the Bernicles ; they have, how- ever, no peduncle or footstalk, but are sessile, that is, immediately fixed upon the substances to which they attach themselves, or in whieh they are more or less embedded. We ollen see the shells of mussels and oysters covered with balani densely crowded together. If by way of example we examine these balani, we shall find them to be shrouded in a cone of hard calcareous matter, composed of various pieces, ac- curately fitted together, and enlarging with the growth of the animal. A thin calcareous base or closing plate fixes the cone to the substance on which it rests. Its apex presents four pieces so arranged as to form an operculum or valvular lid, shutting up the hollow cone when the animal retires, but capable of being opened for the protrusion of the cirrhi. From the restricted genus Balanus, several genera are separated by modern naturalists, according to characters represented by the cone, and its opercu- lum. These animals were well known to the ancients, and the larger species were regarded as delicacies. At the present day the Chinese eat the flesh of the Balanis Tintinabulura, which when cooked has, it is said, the flavour and delicacy of a lobster, and the Balanus Psittacus is regarded at Valparaiso as a luxury. The genus Pyrgoma, which we may first notice, has the cone formed of a single piece, open at the apex, thick and compressed. The base is closed by a cup-shaped plate ; the operculum is bipartile, each part consisting of two valves, which are variable in form, the posterior one being in some species much elongated. The species of this genus are found either adherent to or embedded in corals, and not unfrequently are pvergrown by them, and so buried. Fig. 3083 represents the Pyrgoma crenatum ; at a, specimens are seen 'of the natural size in a madre- pore, the astraea favosa ; 6, c, and d, are different views and sections of the cone magnified ; e, the opercular valves magnified. In the genus Clitia, the shell consists of four irre- gular pieces, two large, and two smaller, dovetailed together by their dentated edges. The operculum is bivalve, one portion being irregularly quadrate, the other nearly triangular. Fig. 3084 represents the Clitia verruca (Lepas striata of Pennant, Lepas verruca of Gmelin), some- what enlarged. It is a native of the European seas, and is found on the British coast. We now pass to the genus Creusia ; we find here the cone quadrivalve, the pieces unequal, the base deeply cup-shaped. Like the Pyrgomata, these shells are affixed to, or imbedded in madrepores, and other corals. Fig. 3085 represents the Creusa gregaria : a, the shell of the natural size imbedded in madrepore; b, c, d, the cone in different views magnified, latter a section ; e, the opercular valves magnified. The genus Conia, to which we turn next, presents us with a pretty species, the Conia porosa (Fig. 3086), found in the Mediterranean, the West Indian and other seas. The shell is subconical, composed of four subtriangular valves, with longitudinal striae highly developed. The operculum consists of four pieces. We now turn to the genus Tubicinella. In this form the shell is subcylindrical ; the cylinder, which is truncated at both ends, is formed of six pieces, smooth within, but longitudinally striated, and marked by distinct elevated rings externally ; so as to bear some resemblance to the windpipe of a qua- druped. Beneath it is closed by a membrane. The operculum is composed of separate pieces not arti- culated. But one species of this genus is known, the Tubicinella Balaenarum (Fig. 3087). It is para- sitic, infesting the bodies of whales, which are some- times seen studded by it in incredible multitudes, to the great suffering, one would suppose, of the huge monsters of the deep, in whose skin and fat these creatures bury themselves almost to the sum- mit of the aperture of the shell. The rings mark the successive stages of growth in this cirrhopod ; their number therefore is variable. Another parasitic genus is that termed Ooronula (Chenolobia, Leach ; Cetopirus, Ranzani ; Diadema, Schumacher). In Coronula the shell is partially orbicular, and is com- posed of six unequal ribbed pieces, so completely soldered as to present the appearance of one undi- vided shell. The opercular valves would not com- pletely close the aperture without the membrane which unites them. The Coronula Balaenaris (Fig. 3088) is found throughout the South Seas, imbedded in the skin and fat of whales, of which animals it must be a great tormentor. We have already alluded to a specimen of Coronula Diadema, in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, to which is attached a group of the Otion Cuvieri (Gymnolepas Cuvieri). For an admirable and most elaborate illustration of the anatomy of the cirrhopod of Coronula, Dr. H. Bur- meisters work ' Zur Naturgeschichte der Ranken- fusser' (Berlin, 1834) may be referred to by those who wish to pursue the subject. Ranzani has founded a genus which he terms Chthalamus, and which he describes as having a very depressed shell with six pieces or valves, very thick at their base, and forming very regular rays ; the aperture is tetragonal ; the operculum subpyra- midal. He gives as an example the Chthalamus stellatus (Fig. 3089), a native of the Mediterranean. We may now turn to the restricted genus Balanus. The species assigned to this genus offer considerable varieties of form ; all have the shell composed of six pieces, four of which are comparatively large, coalescing at. the sides, and forming altogether by their junction a rude hollow cone, having its aper- tures closed by an operculum of four valves, and at its base a testaceous plate. The genus Balanus is widely spread ; groups of different species are found covering rocks, floating wood, shells of various kinds, those even of the pe- dunculated bernicle, the armour-like investment of lobsters and crabs; any objects, in short, which will afford them a sure resting-place. As an example of this genus we select the Balanus Psittacus (Lepas Psittacus, Molina) as an example, Fig. 3090. This gigantic species is a native of va- rious parts of the coasts of South America, and is described by Captain Phillip Parker King, R.N., in his account of the mollusks, &c., collected by the officers of H. M.S. Adventure and Beagle, employed between the years 1826 and 1830 in surveying the south coast of America. " This cirrhiped," he says, "which at Concepcion de Chile is. frequently of a larger size than five inches and a half long, and three inches and a half in diameter, forms a very common and highly esteemed food of the natives, by whom it is called Pico, from the acuminated process of the two posterior valves. The anterior and posterior opercular valves when in contact pre- sent some resemblance to a parrot's beak, whence Molina's name (Psittacus). It is also found very abundantly at Valdivia and at Calbuco, near the north of the island of Chiloe. It occurs in large bunches, and presents something of a cactus-like appearance. The parent is covered by its progeny, so that large bunches are found composed of from fifty to a hun- dred individuals, each of which becomes in its turn the foundation of another colony. One specimen, in the possession of my friend W. J. Broderip, Esq., consists of a numerous group based on two large individuals. They were collected by being chopped off with a hatchet. At Concepcion, where they were found of a larger size than to the southward, they are principally procured at the island of Quiriquina, which lies across the entrance of the bay, whence they are exported in large quantities to Valparaiso and Santiago de Chile, where they are considered as a great delicacy, and, indeed, with some justice, for the flesh equals in delicacy and richness that of the crab, which, when boiled and eaten cold, it very much resembles." Referring to Fig. 3090, a represents the Balanus Psittacus, about one-fourth of the natural size ; b, the opercular valves of the natural size ; the spiked terminations of the posterior valves are very de- cided. It is from the fissuie between the two an- terior valves, and which is capable of being opened by the action of certain muscles, that the plumose cirrhi emerge, and the spines seem as if intended to protect them. A fine group of the shells of this species, clustered one upon another, forms a most picturesque object. From the genus Balanus Dr. Leach separated cer- tain small species which habitually live imbedded in sponges, and placed them in a distinct genus under the title of Acasta. Of this the Acasta Mon- tagui (Fig. 3091) is an example. Two varieties are known ; one quite plain with a flat base, the other furnished with spines, and with a convex base : a represents the spinous variety ; 6, the smooth va- riety. The validity of Acasta is not admitted by Mr. Sowerby, who restores the species to the genus Balanus. A genus termed Catophragmus by Mr. Sowerby has been founded by that naturalist for the reception of some singular species with a bivalve operculum, and a shell composed of eight unequal pieces, form- ing a subconical tube. A remarkable peculiarity, with respect to the shells of Catophragmus, con- sists, says Mr. Sowerby, "in a number of narrow perpendicular valves, arranged round the shelly cone, and in rows like pales, the first row of which consists of eight pieces, placed so as exactly to cover the sutures of the shelly cone immediately sur- rounding the animal ; around this are then placed several sets of more and more numerous pieces, gradually decreasing in size, so that the outer row, which is the most numerous, consists also of the smallest pieces. Additional rows seem to be pro- duced as the animal increases in age, for a young specimen in our possession has only one row of eight pieces covering the sutures of the first cone, while a much larger and older specimen still retains part of three rows, and has evidently lost some of the external rows. The young individual also shows that the whole of the pieces are pointed at their superior extremities, whereas in the old shells these extremities are so worn or eroded as to become very irregular and obtuse." As an example of this genus we give the Cato- phragmus imbricatus, Sowerby, Fig. 3092. It is a native of the seas around the West India Islands : a represents the old shell of this species of the natural size ; b, the same magnified, showing the rows of perpendicular appendages to the shelly 30$3.^-P\*rgoin& creiutQin. ^m- 5087.-- Tulicinella ItaLvnonim. 3089.~Clitlialamiu stellatns- 309 1 .^Balanus Montagiu. 3093.-.Octonafrris ani;alo«.i. 3086.— Conia porosa. 3092.— Catophragmu5 imbricatns. :'V--V 3064.— Ciitia verruca. 3090,— Baiinus Piittacus. 30^8.— Cor^jnul^ Balnnaiis. 3085 — Creusa grcgana. 296 w 3094.— Carcinus maena', open. 3(9:i.— AsUCQS fluTiatflis, ofien. ^/^^-''■>ii • 3097a"-Ouapace of Astacus fluvLatUk. 3108.— Potter icT Foot (^ Thelphusa lluvia' W'm. cmos nuenas. 3101.— Claw of Thelphusa laTiatUil. f^ 3103. — Antennn of Thelphusa fluviatilia. 3100.— Jaw feet of Thelpliuja fluTiatilis. 30«9<— Under side of Male Cl^. 3098.— Under side of Female Crab. No. 88. Vol. II. 31P4.— Crab-fishins. [THE MUSEUM OP ANIMATED NATURE., 297 S98 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [CnVSTACEA cone, and of which a triple i»*ries is seen ; c is the younjC iihell of the natural size adhering to a portion of rock ; d is the same magnified, and placed in such a position as to show the operculum, and the pointed ends of the additional pieces with which the shelly cone is firat strengthened, before an additional layer is added or the points have become eroded. Another and very curious genus established by Mr. Sowerby is Octomcris. The cone consists of eight pieces, their sutures internally exhibiting an angular configuration ; the shelly pieces are exter- nally foliaceous ; there is no internal plate; a thin epidermis is observable ; the operculum consists of four parts. As an example, we give Octomeris an- gulosa, Sowerby, Fig. 3093 : a represents the shell in such a position as to show the operculum and the eight foliated pieces of the cone ; c, d, e,f, g, h, i, k, represent the eight pieces separated and present- ing their internal surface : c, the anterior piece ; d, the posterior piece ; /, the operculum, consisting of four pieces, of which the two anterior are the lareest. With respect to fossil specimens of the shells of the Cirrhopoda, they appear to be of rare occur- 'vnce ; fragments of Pentalasmis from the Calcaire grossier of Grignon, and the Suffolk crag, have been met with, and fossil balani have been found in tertiary deposits, and species are recorded from the beds of Piacenza, Bordeaux, Paris, Essex, &c. Here, then, we terminate our sketch of the Cirrhopoda, which, , enclosed as they are in shelly cases, few, we think, i will consider as immediately allied to the bivalve teslacea. Their symmetrical limbs and nervous sys- tem are distinguishing characteristics of great im- portance ; and with respect to the shell and mantle, j which, if analogous to the same parts that envelope [ the mollusks, would certainly determine an approxi- | mation between the two groups: even these parts, , according to Professor Burmeister, are essentially j different, and bear more resemblance to the external covering of the Crustacea than that of the mollusca. We may here also revert again to the singular transformations which the young of the Cirrhopodi undergo after exclusion from the egg, and of which, if the observations of Cavolini, of Mr. Thompson, and Professor Burmeister be verified, some of the Crustacea, as the common crab, also afford exam- ples. The changes of the young cirrhopods from a state of freedom, and from a comparatively perfect organization, with eyes and limbs adapted for swim- ming, to a fixed condition, and to a modification of structure destitute of organs of sight and locomotion, is indeed very surprising. Startling as the fact may be, there is no reason to doubt the correctness of Mr. Thompson's statements. It must then be concluded that on entering into life the little crea- tures are free agents, and possessed both of that peculiar instinctive impulse which urges them to seek a place of permanent rest, and of that instinc- tive knowledge which enables them to determine upon that suited to their specific habits. Hence then does each species select its proper abode, the coral mass, the sponge, the log of wood, the rock or stone, or the skin of the whale, the shell of the tor- toise, or the valves of mollusks reposing at the bot- tom of the sea. Having once fixed upon their resting-place, and there settled, the transformation begins, and the once active cirrhopod is moored or fastened closely throughout its future term of ex- istence ; to this new mode of life is its novel organi- zation adapted; its cirrhi enable it to prey on the minute tenants of the water; its shell defends it; it grows rapidly, and fulfils the part allotted to it in the grand scheme of creation. ARTICULATA, Cuv. (HOMOG^S^NGLIATA, Owen.) Tm term Homogangliata, proposed by Professor Owen as the designation of this great group or sub- kingdom, alludes to the condition of the nervous system,— the term Articulata to external conforma- tion, the body being composed of a series of rings formed by the skin or integument, which may be soft as in the worm and leech, or hard and serving as an external skeleton, as in the beetle, the crab, and the lobster. With respect to the nervous system, it consists of a series of ganglions symmetrically disposed along the ventral region of the body united by intervening nervous filaments so as to form a continuous chain. The first, or anterior pair of ganglia are an excep- tion, as far as position is concerned, to the rest, being placed on the dorsal aspect of the body ; they give off a nervous ring which embraces the oeso- phagus, and communicates with the succeeding ganglia. These oesophageal ganglia also give off nervous filaments to the head, the organs of vision, hearing, taste, &c., and being in some degree devoted to the perceptive faculties, have been regarded as analogous to the brain in the higher orders. The other ganglia in succession give nerves to the re- spective segments of the body to which they belong. In the higher Crustacea the oesophageal ganglia are consolidated into one, and in numerous instances certain of the succeeding ganglia become blended into single ones, so as to form a few concentrated nervous centres. As may be inferred from the arrangement of the nervous system, the body in the Homogangliata is symmetrical. Where limbs exist we find them dis- posed in equal order and number on each side ; and there are distinct sanguiferous and respiratory sys- tems. Among the Homogangliata, the various groups or classes differ much from each other in form and characters; in habits and modes of life. Some are aquatic, some terrestrial; and every mode of pro- gression from crawling to swimming and flying is exhibited among them. We have said tha't the framework of the Homo- gangliata, or Articulata, consists of a series of rings of greater or less density either composing the in- teguments themselves or else added to them, and constituting a kind of external skeleton, both for the attachment of muscles and the protection of the internal parts. In the lowest groups the rings are soft and nume- rous, and the body is elongated ; these beings, such as the leech, worm, &c., have no true limbs, though appendages of use in progression are allotted to the various segments. In the higher groups the limbs are well developed, and in one class we find wings. CLASS CRUSTACEA . (Chabs, Lobstkrs, &c.). The Crustacea are all, or almost all, aquatic in their habits, and have their organs of respiration modified for the element they naturally tenant. In their bodily conformation they . do not depart from the annulose model, though the rings in the higher groups of the class coalesce to a greater or less extent, accompanied by an according concentration of the nervous system. In the lower groups, indeed, the annulose conformation is main- .tained, as in the Myriapods (Centipedes, &c.), and each segment has its limb subservient to locomotion. If with Latreille, Lamarck, and others, we place the Woodlice (Oniscus, Porcellio, and Armadillo) within the pale of the Crustacea, we have in them a link immedia>-'ly in connection with the Myriapods, whence through the Ligia oceanica, or marine onis- cus, and other allied genera, we advance to the genus Cyamus (subgenus Leptomera), and then pass on to theSandhoppers, as Talifrus, Gammarus, &c., and then to Squilla, Lucifer, &c., and so on to the Shrimps (Crangon), the Prawns (Paaelmon), the Lobsters, and the Crabs. It is in these last that the greatest centralization of the system presents itself, the rings being sol- dered into a single carapace covering the anterior part of the body, and the nervous ganglia equally coalescing. The Crustacea are invested either with a horny tegumentary covering, as in the shrimp, or with a mail of considerable hardness, composed of car- bonate of lime, as in the lobster and crab. This ar- mour is, indeed, an external articulated skeleton, secreted by a vascular dermis or skin, and is at in- tervals thrown off and renewed. We may here observe that in Latreille's arrange- ment the Crustacea primarily resol ve themselves into two great sections, the Malacostiaca* (soft-shelled animals) and Entomostraca (shelled insects). It is to the fii-st section that we shall at present confine our attention. The modes in which the Crustacea have been classified are almost as various as the writers who have made this department of zoology their study. That of Milne Edwards is that to which preference is to be given. It does not differ in material points from the simplified table subjoined. Malacostraca. Orde) Eyes on peduncles, and moveable. iBrachyura — as Crabs. Anomurat — as Hermit Crabs, Birgus, &c. Macrura — as Lobsters. „, , jUnipeltata — as Squilla. ^'"•"^P"''* \Bipeltata-.as Phyllosoma, Lucifer, &c. Eyes sessile and immoveable. Amphipoda — as Gammarus, Talitrus, &c. Lsemodipoda — as Cyamus, Leptomera, &c. Isopoda — as Ligia, Limnoria, Canolira, Oniscus, Ar- madillo. Id order to understand the general structure as it obtains in the higher Malacostraca, let us take a familiar species, the Common Lobster, and atten- tively examine its organization. In the first place, then, we observe that the head and thorax are, as it were, blended into one piece, and covered by a dorsal shield or carapace, furrowed where the di- vision between the head and thorax extends. To this portion, called Cephalothorax, succeeds an abdo- minal portion covered with seven rings of armour, broad above, capable of motion, hinged upon each • Malacostracfi, from fioAaxoc, soft, ofrrpaitov, a slioll. The name, alluding to the softnew of the shell compared with that of a bivalve or univalve mollusk, is not, it must be confessed, very happily chosen. It is, however, very generally adopted. f MacrurA and Anomura are generally spelled Macroura and Anomoura, and if so, Uracliynra ought to be Brachyoura. other, and regularly overlapping each other's edges in succession. Of these the last may be regarded as the caudal or tail-ring ; it has two oar-like plates on each side, of which the outermost is transversely jointed. We may here observe that Audouin and Milne Edwards consider the Cephalothorax to con- sist essentially of fourteen rings, viz., seven for the head, and seven for the thorax, so that with those of the abdomen there are twenty-one altogether. The limbs are divided into three sets; on each side of the mouth are six limbs, termed jaw-feet (pieds-mSchoires), which are furnished with tentacu- lar appendages. These limbs manipulate the food, turn it about, and apply it to the powerful jaws. Under the chest are based five pairs of true limbs. Of these the first pair are remarkably developed, possessing vast power, and the last joint presents us with pincers or chelae, acted upon by voluminous muscles. In some Crustacea the chelae are the same, but in the lobster they differ : the left pincer has its opposing edges finely dentated, and is used for seizing, cutting, or rending prey. The right is bluntly tuberculated, and is adapted for holding anchor-like upon any fixed object in order to moor its possessor amidst the agitated waters. Of the four succeeding limbs on each side the two first end in small pincers, the rest in pointed articulators. Along the under surface of the abdomen (often called the tail, but erroneously) are certain articu- lated appendages, termed false feet : there are five pairs, and all, excepting the first pair, which are simple, are bifid at the last joint. These false feet are not used in locomotion, but are of service in the case of the female in enabling her to affix the roe or eggs to the under surface of the abdomen. An- teriorly the carapace projects in the form of a den- tated spine, protecting the eyes, two in number, placed on short moveable footstalks or peduncles. Below the eyes are four antennae, of which the central pair are the shortest and slenderest, and they are also bifid. In ascending the scale of beings from the lowest grades of life to the highest, the Crustacea are the first in the scale to present us with definite organs of hearing ; for though insects hear, the organs themselves have not been detected, though, most firobably, they reside at the base of the antennse. n the lobster they are placed on the basal joint of the larger pair of antennae underneath, and appear in the form of a minute tympanic membrane, sur- rounded by a slightly elevated margin. This mem- brane covers a little cell filled with fluid, and a minute branch of the nerve supplying the antenna; ramifies upon it. The mouth of the lobster is vei-y complicated ; it is furnished with two mandibles, two powerful max- illae, and two maxillary palpi. The shell forms a labium, or sort of upper lip, but there is no distinct labium, or lower lip. In the Macrura, of which the lobster is an ex- ample, the abdominal portion is the great organ of locomotion ; hence the muscular development which it displays. It is by striking the water with a vigor- ous flap that the lobster propels itself aiong ; and the caudal paddles are so arranged that when the tail is extended they slide over each other so as to present the least possible surface to the water, but during the stroke they expand. In accordance with f;;KABs.l MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 299 the blow of the tail which is made towards the thorax, the lobster makes a backward progression, and such is the vigour displayed, that by a single sweep of the tail the lobster will dart back instan- taneously to a distance of eighteen or twenty feet. In the Crustacea generally the digestive organs are simple. In the lobster the gullet leads directly to the stomach, which is of considerable size : its pyloric portion is supported by strong calcareous pieces, and is further furnished with three hard grinding teeth, moved by powerful muscles, the whole constituting an efficient apparatus for bruis- ing. This apparatus is popularly known as "the lady in the lobster." The alimentary canal is very simple. The liver consists of two large masses enclosing the pylorus, and is composed of agglome- rated clusters of minute sacculi. We may here notice the organs of respiration. Connectea with the base of the jaw-feet and of the true feet, is a series of pyramidal tufts, consisting each of a stem covered with vascular filaments. These tufts or gills are shrouded beneath the cara- pace on each side, and fill a sort of shallow chamber lined with a fine membrane. Each chamber freely admits the water by a wide fissure, while an orifice near the mouth permits its egress ; this latter orifice IS closed by a semi-membranous flap (flabellura) continued from the second of the jaw-feet, and so arranged that every motion of the jaw-feet tends to create a circulation of the water imbibed. The movements of the true limbs also add to this circu- lation, and maintain a due current over the branchial surfaces. The stems of the branchial plumes en- close each an artery and a vein. With respect to the circulation, we find a heart of an oval shape below the plate of the thorax near its margin ; it consists of a single cavity with strong muscular walls, and gives off several main arteries, which ramify over different parts. Of these main trunks one goes to the stomach, antennae, eyes, and mouth, another is ramified over the lobes of the liver ; a posterior vessel supplies the great muscles of the tail, while a thoracic vessel, directed down- wards, sends a branch anteriorly, supplying the limbs, jaw-feet, and the branchiae, and another branch posteriorly supplying the false limbs. The blood returns from every part by a system of veins, Which merge into a series of extensive but very shallow reservoirs along the doreal region. The largest occupies the thoracic part, and communi- cates with the heart by several short trunks, guarded at their entrance by valves. The blood poured into the heart is of two kinds, viz., purely venous, and renovated or arterial blood from the branchiae ; hence the blood sent through the arteries of the system generally is of a mixed character. It must be observed, however, that Milne Edwards and .\udouin regard the heart as purely systemic, and the reservoirs as the sole recipients of the venous blood, which, without passing through the heart, is transmitted at once to the branchiae, and thence returned purified to the heart by a scries of vessels. It is, however, fully established that though the venous reservoirs send a portion of their blood to the branchiie for renovation, they also send a portion through four valvular orifices to the heart, the valves being so constructed as to prevent its reflux during the action of the latter. The nervous system in the lobster, as in the other Crustacea, is ganglionic. We have already alluded to the different degrees of ganglionic centralization exhibited by the crusta- ceous groups in accordance with their development of external organization. In the crab, for example, the abdominal and thoracic ganglia become com- pacted into one great central mass, from which nerves radiate to the limbs and various organs. This increase of centralization is not only exhibited by the progressive series of forms as they ascend the scale of development, but by the individuals of the highest grade as they advance from an imma- ture to a perfect condition. For example, in the river crayfish (Astacus fluviatilis), there are at first eleven distinct pairs of ganglia : in a short time the first six pairs unite, forming six single masses; afterwards the four anterior ganglia consolidate into one mass, and the fifth and sixth unite to form another mass, while the other pairs continue dis- tinct. It has been suspected that in insects the nerves are of two kinds, viz., nerves of motion and nerves of sensation ; and this condition of the ner- vous system has been found by Mr. Newport to obtain in the Crustacea. Yet we need not thence infer any high degree of susceptibility, for there is •till no brain, unless, indeed, we give this term to the oesophageal ganglia, which, no doubt, they merit to a certain extent. Yet we may spare half our pity for crabs, lobsters, and shrimps while boiling, and bestow that half upon the over-worked horse, the ill-used dog, or the suffering of our own species. There are certain circumstances connected with the growth of the Crustacea which we must not here omit to notice. Imprisoned within their armour, the necessity of frequent changes of it, in order that Vol. II. the body may develope in size, is imperative ; for the plates of mail, when once formed, remain unal- tered, and cannot be increased by subsequent addi- tions. Strange to say, however, it is not only the shelly plates of these animals which are changed, but also the covering of the eyes, the lining mem- brane of the stomach, the teeth connected with it, and also the calcareo-tendinous expansions to which the muscles of the claws are attached. Released from its hard encasement, the soft body suddenly pushes forth its growth, and shortly acquires a new coat of armour, to be again cast off at the due period. Reaumur, who watched the process of exuviation in the river crayfish (Astacus fluviatilis), describes it as attended with many efforts and much struggling. " A few days previous to the commencement of the operation (early in autumn) the creature abstains from all solid nourishment ; the carapace and ab- dominal segments will be then found to offer less than the usual resistance to the pressure of the finger. Shortly afterwards the crayfish appears rest- less, and rubs its legs against each other; it then throws itself on its back, agitates and distends its whole body, by which the membrane joining the carapace to the abdomen is burst, and that great dorsal plate is raised. Some degree of rest follows these first struggles, but after a short time the ani- mal again puts all its organs in motion ; the cara- pace is seen to rise gradually from the legs beneath, and in less than half an hour the animal has ex- tricated itself from this portion of its slough. By retracting its head, the antennae, eyes, and legs are withdrawn as Irom a case, and the extrication of the last being the most difficult and complicated operation, is attended with so much pain, that the effort sometimes occasions the loss of one or more of these organs. The hinder parts are withdrawn with less difficulty ; the head is conducted below the carapace, and the abdominal plates are thrown off by a forward motion, attended by a brisk and distensive action. The creature is now seen di- vested of all its incumbrances, and the case is left unbroken, as if no struggle had ever taken place within it." To this account we may add. as was found by Professor Jones, that the segments of the chelae, but not of the ordinary legs, are split in the neighbour- hood of the joints, and the articulating ligaments ruptured ; the internal broad tendinous plates re- main attached to the moveable joint of each pincer, and the stomach-lining with its teeth is contained within the rejected carapace. In the prawn, shrimp, &c., the process of exuvia- tion has not been watched ; in the lobster, the cir- cumstances as detailed by Mr. Couch (' Mag. Botany and Zool.' vol. i., p. 171), differ from those attend- ing the exuviation of the River Crayfish. The lobster to the last is ravenous, and vigorous, and in- stances have been known in which, enticed by the bait, lobsters about to cast their slough have entered into the fishermen's creels or traps, and on the men commencing to handle their prize, the animal has slipped away, leaving its empty husk in the grasp of the astonished fisherman. " It was by a circum- stance somewhat similar," says Mr. Couch, "that the opportunity is afforded me of giving a minute description of a very perfect case, left by the crea- ture when it made its escape, for escape it did, to the no small annoyance of the fisherman, who had calculated on the possession of a prize of somewhat above the ordinary magnitude. I cannot find that any extraordinary actions or contortions have been observed in the lobster when engaged in delivering itself from its trammels, or that the time is pro- longed, as in the case of the crayfish; and it is cer- tain that when freed it possesses great activity in effecting its escape. In the specimen referred to, the cases of the antennae and palpi were perfect to their minutest extremities ; the stalk also, and the transparent covering of the eyes, were uninjured ; the segments and joints of the posterior part of the body with the caudal plates were all joined together, but without any intervening membrane ; and the inferior parts from beneath the snout, including the jaws, thejaw-feet, the chelae and legs, with the sternal (breast) plate, oesophagus, and internal coat of the stomach, formed one connected portion, with no fur- ther separation than arose from the absence of every portion of membrane." The manner in which the animal escaped was not to be mistaken. " Through the middle of the carapace ran a line as straight as if it had been cut with a knife, and evidently formed by a natural process of separation, for it even pro- ceeded through the centre of the snout, to the ter- minal pointed process at the root which turned off to the right side, so that the least effort by the animal was sufficient to afford it a passage." In the common crab, according to the same ob- server, the exuviation takes place by a separation of the dorsal from the under part of the carapace, the animal lying on its back during the process. Previously to this event, in the crab, and, as it would appear, also in the lobster, the fleshy contents of the limb-cases, and especially of the great chelae, shrink very considerably, wasting away to mere ru- diments ; were it not so, the flesh of the chela; could not be extricated, for it does not appear that the claw-cases of the crab and lobster are fractured. "The newly extricated crab, not unlike a lump of dough enclosed in a membrane, has at first strength enough only to enable it to crawl to a place of safety, some hole or fissure. There it absorbs as much fluid as will distend its organs, and their com- mon covering, now as flexible as velvet, to the full extent of their capacity, by which means the depo- sition of the calcareous crust is made according to the newly acquired bulk of the animal, which is proportionately the most increased in the youngest individuals. In the earlier stages of life the exuviation and sudden pushing forward of growth occur several times in the course of the year, but at more and more distant intervals as the animal verges towards maturity. When the full size is attained, the shell is most probably never cast off and renewed. We have ourselves examined a large Norway lobster, in a living state, the carapace of which formed a bed upon which a multitude of full-grown mussels were firmly attached in close array, presenting a curious picture. Mr. Couch has found oysters two inches and a half in diameter adherent to the carapace of living crabs ; and many specimens of crabs with oysters firmly agglutinated to their carapace are to be seen in the British Museum. There is another curious fact in the history of the Crustacea, which we must not omit to notice, namely the power they possess of reproducing their limbs when lost by accident. The loss of a leg seems to be of little importance ; nay, when suddenly alarmed a lobster will frequently throw off its claws with a violent jerk, and indeed, when a limb is injured, the animal generally breaks it off, at the joint second to its junction with the trunk, where the growth of a new limb the most speedily takes place. No pain appears to attend this strange operation ; the wound 1 becomes covered with a delicate pellicle, and a new claw is in due time produced. It remains, however, unprotected by a hard shell until the next general moult, and seldom or never acquires the size of the corresponding claw, although it is perfect in all its parts. It has been asserted by many physiologists, and among them by Cavolini, that the Decapod Crus- tacea undergo several metamorphoses, after exclu- sion from the egg before obtaining their permanent figure. Mr. Thompson in the 'Philosophical Trans- actions ' describes the changes in the common crab, of which, according to him, the newly hatched young differs so much from the adult as to have been placed in a very distinct group of crustaceans, and described under the name of Zoea pelagica.. The question, however, is by no means set at rest ; Rathke, who has most elaborately traced the deve lopment of the crayfish, asserts that the Decapods, as far as he has examined their habits and economy, do not undergo the changes described by Mr. Thompson in the case of the crab, adding that " at the end of their existence in the egg, they have exactly the same aspect, and are as fully developed (except as to size) as the full grown individuals " (' Ann. Nat. Hist.' 1837.) Mr. Westwood has dissected the eggs of the land-crab of the West Indies, and also denies the fact of any metamorphosis in that species. (See ' Phil. Trans." 1835.) We may now turn to our pictorial specimens illus- trative of the general structure of the Crustacea. Fig. 3094 represents the Carcinus maenas, a species of crab common on our coasts, with the upper por- tion of the carapace removed to show the arrange- ment of the internal organs, a, a, a, a, the sto- mach ; b, b, parts for a special purpose ; c, the heart; d, d, the branchiae ; e,_f,f, the liver. Fig. 3095 represents the river crayfish, Astacus fluviatilis, similarly laid open, a, h, and c, denote the same parts as in Fig. 3094 ; d, d, d, d, the liver ; e, the branchiae ; /,/, muscles of the mandibles. Fig. 3096 is the upper surface of the carapace of Carcinus maenas ; «, b, andc, are regions correspond- ing to the parts marked by the same letters in Fig. 3094 ; d, the posterior hepatic region ; e, e, the branchial regions ; f, f, the anterior hepatic re- gions. Fig. 3097, the carapace of Astacus fluviatilis. The regions into which it is artificially divided are marked by the same letters as in Fig. 3096. Fig. 3098, the under surface of the female crab, with the tail extended ; a, b, c, d, e, sternal pieces ; f, g, h, i, latero-sternal pieces ; k, k, orifices ; I, I, I, abdominal appendages, or false feet. The detached figure (a) represents one of the false feet removed. Fig. 3099, a view of the under surface of the male. The detached figure (a) shows one of the false feet. Fig. 3100 represents the jaw-feet of Thelphusa 2 Q2 JIM— Lapn tontft. SI lt<— L'lpet crilmrii. md detnla. 3115 — Tbalamita Chaptallii. 31 13.— Lupea petajica. 3 ; 09.— Fc«t of Carcinus. 107.— Orbits, Antennae, and Jaw-faat of Partuniu. -^ 3106.— INlrtttmnuA vsrie]£altts. 3U«.— PUtysaTcUiit bipuUulatus. 3108. — Portunuspuber. 3'-'.«.— Thatamiti oucifenu 3103.— Implement emplaned in Cnb flikinc . SI II.— ItiiyUiu Hemlowii. 3C0 SlU.— Coryttea CuaWeliania : Mile, 3127.— Zoz7mtt<>neus. 301 302 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Crabs. fluviatilia, a fresh-water crab found in the south of Europv. 1, the right internal jaw-loot; A, its inter- nal blade ; a, b, c, d, e,f, its various articulations ; B. its external blade, or flabelliform palp: 2, jaw of the fourth pair with its palp: a, jaw of the third pair with lU palp : -J, jaw of the second pair : 5, jaw of the first pair : 6, mandible with iu palp : 7 the upper lip : 8, the tongue, a sort of horny lamellar process performing in some degree the functions of a lower lip. Fig. 31U1, the claw or chelie of Thelphusa fluvi- atilis. a, the moveable finger opposed to the im- moveable finger j b, of the claw ; c, the carpus, or wrist. Fig. .3102, the posterior foot of Thelphusa fluvi- atilis. a, the haunch; b, the trochanter; c, the thigh ; d, the leg : e, the metatarsus ; /, the tarsus. Fig. 3103, the antennte of Thelphusa fluviatilis. 'CHI.b fixed to the sides of the thorax, in re- spiratory cavities; the oral apparatus composed of SIX pairs of members. True limbs five pairs. Section Brachyura — short -tailed Decapods, as Crabs. The Brachyura, or crabs, have their form far better adapted fur walking on the shore, or at the bottom of the sea, than lor swimming. The cephalo-thorax is developed ; the antennae are short : the tail, or more properly the abdominal portion, is greatly reduced, and when not used is kept bent under the thorax, and lodged in a depression be- tween the origin of the legs. The branchiae are under the edge of the carapace in the form of broad lamellie laid over one another, and there are three flabella on each side derived from the roots of the jaw-feet, of which two are embedded amongst the branchiaj, while the third, in a crescentic form, extends over the whole series. In some crabs all the feet, excepting the chelae, end pointed, as in the common crab; but in crabs more especially adapted for swimming, the hinder pair of limbs are terminated by compressed paddles, or oar-blades. Most who have wandered along the shore of the sea at low tide have observed shoals of crabs run- ning quickly about in their sideway manner, and endeavouring when approached to hide themselves under stones, or bury themselves in the sand. It is, indeed, far more common for the crab thus to ap- proach the shore than the lobster, for the former is far more terrestrial ; yet both, provided the gills are kept moist, will live a long time out of their native element. Some species, indeed, are almost exclu- sively terrestrial, visiting the sea only at certain periods, and again returnmg to the land where they live in deep burrows. The large edible crab (Cancer Pagurus), Le crabe poupart, ou tourteau, of the French, is too well known to need description ; it may be taken as the type of brachyura. It is much esteemed as a deli- cacy for the table, but previously to moulting, and during the time in which it is destitute of its armour, its flesh is soft, watery, and very unpleasant. On the contrary, some of the crabs in the West Indies, and America, are at that season in their highest perfection. A writer in the ' American Cyclopaedia ' says, " Myriads of crabs are caught on the shores of the rivers and creeks of the Chesapeake Bay, when in their soft state, and sold to great ad- vantage. The epicure who has never tasted soft crabs should hasten to Baltimore, Annapolis, or Kuston in Maryland, in July and August, to make himself acquainted with one of the highest luxuries of the table." The powers of vision, smell, and taste, are enjoyed by the crab in great perfection. With regard to smell, though, as has been well observed, every creel baited for the capture of these animals and lobsters proves them to be endowed with it, yet where the organ is seated is a matter of doubt. The large edible crab. Cancer Pagurus, is partial to rocky coasts, and is taken around those of our island in great abundance. Crab-fishing is gene- rally conducted by two men, who go out in one boat ; in addition to their boat, they have lines, and creels, cruives, or crab-pots, as they are termed in various counties, the original cost of which amounts to about ten pounds. These creels are made of dry osiers, and resemble basket-work. They are con- structed on the same principle as a wired mouse-trap, but the aperture, instead of being at the side, is at the top. Within the creel, the bait, consisting of pieces of thornback, skate, or other fish, is fastened to the bottom, and the creel is then dropped in some fa- vourable situation, three stones of sufficient weight being fastened in the inside to sink it. The creels are sometimes let down to a depth of twenty fa- thoms, the fishermen being guided in this respect by the state of the weather, or the nature of the ground. In fine weather they are dropped in from three to five fathoms deep : but the crabs are chiefiy to be found where the l>ottom is rocky. A line is fastened to the creel, and at the upper end of the line a cork is attached which floats on the surface. Hy this means the place where the creel is sunk is known to the fishermen, who usually set from forty to fifty creels at one time. The bait is suitpended about the middle of the creel, and can easily be seen by the crabs, which, entering ut the aperture, find, like a mouse in a wire trap, that escape is im- possible. The difficulty of egress is increased by the entrance being overhead. Lobsters, prawns, and shrimps are frequently found captured in the same creel with crabs. When the fishermen have sunk the whole of their creels, they have still some time left to proceed farther out to sea for other fish before it is necessary to visit them. Ciub-fishing is therefore a valuable addition to their means of livelihood, for it does not preclude the pursuit of other fish at the same season. The demand for this species of shell-fish is usually good, and in the nearest large town on many parts of the coast it is often fully equal to the supply. Thither the fisher- man's wife, or some of his family, may convey the quantity taken ; and, if the market be already abund- antly provided, they can by means of the well-boxes, although already caught, he kept back for a time until prices rise again. These are all advantages peculiar to this fishery. When a few hours have elapsed, the fishermen visit their creels, one of them rowing and the other keeping a look-out for the floats, and taking out of the creels whatever has been captured. There may perhaps be a dozen dif- ferent owners of boats thus engaged, and it is there- fore necessary to have recourse to some means by which they may each secure the fruits of their indi- vidual industry without the risk of dispute. This is accomplished by distinguishing their respective floats by some peculiar mark — by a notch in the side — a mark in the shape of a diamond cut at the top — an angle cut off, &c. &c. The necessity of mutual protection points out to them the value of combination and union, and the marks adopted by the fishermen to distinguish their floats are conse- quently the result of some common understanding amongst them; or otherwise of an instinctive regard to the means by which not only one but all are enabled to pursue their calling in confidence and security. Crabs are brought to market both in a boiled and in a raw state. If the market be distant they are placed in a well-box which is attached to the out- side of the fishing-vessel, and in this manner they are brought to Billingsgate from parts so distant as Norway. May, June, and July are the months in which they are generally out of season; but even in these months many may be obtained which are in a perfectly good state for the table. The male is of greater value than the female, and has larger claws. The sexes are distinguished as the cock and the hen. Before boiling, a good crab is known by the roughness of its shell, particularly on the claws. When boiled, the mode of ascertaining its goodness is by holding the claws tight, and shaking the body, which will rattle, or seem as if water were in the in- side, if it be not in perfection. The time they are usually boiled is from a quarter of an hour to a couple of hours in sea-water, or in water in which salt has been infused. Sometimes they are put into cold water which is afterwards heated to the boil- ing point ; and this mode is believed to be less cruel than plunging them suddenly into water heated to a high temperature, though it is alleged they are inferior for the table when the former method is ernployed. Fig. 3104 represents a scene which may be often contemplated on different parts of our coast, fisher- men hauling up their creels for examination. Fig. 3 1 05 gives a good idea of the implements used in the crab and lobster fishery, a, creels or crab-pots ; b, a lobster-pot, of cordage or netting on hoops ; c, a well-box, for preserving the animals. We shall now pass to a review of our pictorial specimens ; stopping only to notice those species to whoiiC history a more than ordinary interest is at- tached. Fig. 3106, PoTtunus variegatus. This species, one of the paddling crabs, is closely allied to the Carcinus msenas of our coasts : but has the posterior limbs still more paddle-formed. It is a native of the Adriatic, and the Medilenanean. a, the ex- ternal antenna ; b, the external jaw-loot ; c, the tail or abdomen. Belonginsr to the same natural group are several genera, as Portunus, of which the orbits, antennae, and jaw-foot, are represented at Fig. 310" ; and one of the species, Portunus puber, at Fig. 3108. This species, the Cancer velutinus of Pennant, is about two inches and a half long; and is found on the coasts of England and the adjacent continent. It is the Criibe k laine, the Crabe espagnol and lY'trille of the French. Its flesh is accounted very delicate. Its posterior limbs may be compared with those of Car- cinus menas. Fig. 3109, the Carcinus raitnas (feet of), le Crabe enrage, or small common crab, is ex- tremely common on our coasts and those of Fiance. It may be seen at low water running on the shore with great rapidity ; and when approached it buries itself in the sand. Though not much esteemed this crab is eaten both in London and Paris. We have seen baskets full hawked about the streets of our metropolis and the suburbs. Another allied form is the genus Platyonichus, of which the P. bipustulatus, Fig. 3110, is an ex- ample. It is of moderate size, and inhabits the Indian Seas. We may here notice the genus Poly- bius, in which all the feet, excepting the chelae, are formed for swimming; the posterior pair are short and broad. A small species, Polybius Hensiowii, Fig. 311 1, is found in the British Channel, but gene- rally keeps at a distance from shore. Among the more exclusively marine genera is that termed Lupea. The species are seen in the open ocean, swimming with great address near the surface, where, as Bosc remarked, these crabs have the power of suspending themselves motionless, in a state of repose. They haunt masses of drilling sea-weeds, and there find both a retreat and food. The caraijace is remarkable for its transverse extent, and for the strong serration of its anterior margin. The anterior limbs, which are robust, are more or less armed with spines. The Lupea cribraria, Fig. 3112, is of small size, attaining to tne length of three inches. It inhabits the seas of Asia. Its colour is yellowish with numerous whitish spots. The Lupea pelagica (Portunus pelagicus, Fabr.), Fig. 3113, is remarkable for the length of the last lateral spines of the carapace. It is an active swimmer, inhabiting the Red Sea, and the whole of the Indian Ocean. Still more remarkable is the Lupea forceps (Fig. 3114), a small crab from the seas of the An- tilles. Its last lateral spine on each side is con- siderably elongated, and the fore claws are pro- duced into blender and very long pincers, so that the anterior pair of limbs far exceed the four suc- ceeding pairs. Among the Swimming Crabs we may notice the genus Thalamita, in which, from the width of the frame-work of the mouth, the eyes are Ihrown greatly apart, and the third joint of the last pair of limbs is elongated, and has a spine at the extremity of its anterior border. These points are peculiarly manifest in Thalamita Chaptallii (Portunus Chap- tallii, Aud.), Fig. 3115; in which species the an- terior maririii of the carapace between the eyes is smooth. It is a native of the Red Sea, is not more than an inch in length. In the Indian Ocean is found a very pretty species, the Thalamita ciucifera. Fig. 3ilC; the border of the carapace between the eyes is denti- lated, and on each side below the eyes are six serrations. Its general colour is reddish, with yellow bands and markings, a median mark on the carapace resembling a cross in figure. It is the Portunus crucit'erus of Fabricius. Another species, Thalamita natator (Portunus sanguinolentus, Bos), Fig. 3117, has the anterior limbs not only very spinous, but also studded with tubercles and the anterior margin of the cai'apace is serrated. It is a native of the Indian Ocean. Among these genera ofswimniing-crabs, one of the most singular is that termed Podophthalmus ; the eyes, which are placed upon short peduncles in the previous genera, are in this seated at the end of long moveable foot-stalks; these are inserted near the median line of the anterior edge of the carapace, and consist of two portions, the first very long, the second very short; whereas in the Ocypodian ciabs, which also have footstalks of the eyes long, it is on the de- velopment of the second piece, and not of the first, that their length depends. These footstalks can be received for safety each into a long deep gutter, on the anterior border of the carapace. The antennae are below the ocular footstalks. Fig. 31 18 represents one of the ejes, peduncles, and jaw-feet of Podoph- thalmus. The only species, we believe, hitherto known is the Podophthalmus vigil (Portunus vigil, Fabr.), Fig. 3119, a native of the Indian Ocean. It is from two to four inches in length. We may now pass to those genera composing what Cuvier calls Les Crabes proprement dits, of which the Cancer Pagurus is an example. He re- marks that the third articulation of the outermost jaw-feet is notched or marked with a sinu> near the internal extremity, and is almost square. The antennae are short or moderate. Close to the genus Cancer he places the genus Xantho, in which the antennae are inserted into the internal angle of the ocular cavities, and not outside, as in thu former. Fig. 3120 represents the Xantho floridus, common on our coasts and those of France, a, the external jaw-foot; b, external antenna. This is a small species, about two inches in length, of a reddish brown colour, with black claws. Land-Ckabs.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 303 In some respects the genus Pireraela agrees with Xantho, but the external antennae are prolonged, and the stem is many jointed. The Piremela den- tieulata, Fig. 3121, about hah" an inch in length, and of a greenish colour, inhabits our coasts and those of France and Southern Europe. The cara- pace is strongly bossed above. Another genus not very remote from Piremela is Thia, of which one species, Thia polita, Fig. 3122, is European. It lives buried in the sand at a small distance from the shore, and is scarcely an inch in length. Its colour is roseate. VVe may here notice the genus Eriphia ; in this form the lateral antennse are inserted between the ocular pits, and the median antennae. One species, Eriphia spinifrons, Fig. 3123, is very extensively spread, and occurs on the coasts of Europe. Another species, Eriphia Gonagra, Fig. 3124, is a native of the coasts of South America. A third species, Eriphia laevimana. Fig. 3125, is a native of the shores of the Isle of France: Close to Xantho may be placed the genus Rup- pellia, of which one species, Ruppellia tenax. Fig. 3126, is a native of the Red Sea. It is about two inches in length. According to Milne Edwards, between Cancer and Xantho may stand the genus Zozymus, of which the Zozymus seneus of the Indian Ocean, Fig. 3127, is an example. This species is about three inches in length, and of a yellowish colour spotted with red. There is a very remarkable genus of crabs termed Corystes, in which the exterior antennae are longer than the body, and furnished with two rows of cilia. The anterior limbs in the male are twice as long as the body, and nearly cylindrical ; in the female they are about as long as the body, and compressed, especially at the last joint ; the other feet are ter- mmateJ by an elongated claw pointed and chan- nelled longitudinally. The carapace is oval, with an anterior rostrum. The Corystes Cassivelaunus (C. dentatus and C. longimanus, Latr. ; Cancer Cassivelaunus, Pennant) is found on the coasts of England and Fi-ance. The specimens figured by Pennant were dredged up near Holyhead and Ked Wharf, Anglesey, in deep water. Fig. 3128 is the male. Fig. 3129 the female, of this singular crab. The surface of the carapace is somewhat granulous, with two denticles between the eyes, and three sharp points on each side. Latreille gave the name of Melia lo a form of Cancerians of which the Melia tesselata is an example. This species, Fig. 3130, is about half an inch m length, and of a whitish colour, with red lines. It is found on the shores of the Isle of France. VVe now pass to the genus Elisus of Milne Edwards, a small group, of which the Etisus den- tatus is an example. This species is about four inches in length, and inhabits the seas of the Indian archipelago. The carapace is represented at Fig. 3131. There are several genera of crabs, constituting a group called Notopods (Notopoda), which have the feet of the fourth and fifth pairs elevated on the back, and not terminated with paddles, and the eyes supported by simple peduncles. To this group belongs the genus Dorippe, Dromia, &c. The genus Doiippe has small claws, short and equal; the other feet are long and compressed, the thud pair being the largest ; the two last pair are elevated upon tlie back, and terminated by a small hooked nail, which is folded back upon the next joint. The eyes are small and lateral ; the external antennsE rather long and setaceous. The species are widely distributed, inhabiting the seas of the warmer climates, as the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and those of Manilla, &c. They seldom visit the shore, but haunt great depths, and it is probable that, as in Dromia, they use the hinder limbs for the purpose of covering themselves with foreign bodies, by way of shelter and concealment. Of their habits, however, very little is known. The Dorippe lanala. Fig. 3132, is found in the Mediterranean : the body and limbs are covered with reddish down. It is the Cancer lanatus of Lin- naeus. From the genus Dorippe has been separated that termed Ethusa by M. Roux, and which may be distinguished from the former by the simple character of the orifice leading to the respiratory cavities. In Dorippe, there is on each side at the base of the anterior or claw -limbs, an aperture in the form of a button-hole, oblique, ciliated on its edges, and longitudinally slopped by a diaphragm, which communicates with the branchiae, and serves as an outlet for the water which leaves them. In Ethusa this is a fissure of the ordinary character. The Ethusa Mascarone, Fig. 3133, Irom the Mediter- ranean, is an example. It is the Cancer Mascarone of Herbot. The genus Dromia, one of the Notopods, is re- markable for the hirsute character of the limbs and carapace; the claw- limbs are large and strong; the fourth and fifth feet are elevated on the back, and the last joint which is bent is opposed to a spine which terminates the penultimate joint. The eyes are small, and rather approximated. The species of this genus are extensively distributed through the seas of the warmer climates ; they are indolent in their habits, and live in spots where the sea is moderately deep, and rocks afford them snug places of refuge. Generally they are found covered with the valves of Conchifera, or with a species of fleshy polype (alcyonium), which they place and secure by means of their posterior limbs, and which mask them from the notice of enemies. The alcyonia, once fixed on the carapace, develop and extend themselves, and at last entirely conceal it. In July the females rouse from their lethargic indolence and betake themselves to the shallows for the pur- pose of depositing their eggs. The Dromia hirsutissima, Fig. 3134, is found at the Cape of Good Hope. It is covered with long red hairs. Closely allied to Dromia is the genus Dynomene, in which the ocular peduncles are rather elongated, and the two posterior feet only dorsal, and much inferior in size to the other. The carapace is some- what heart-shaped. The only recorded example is the Dynomene hispida, a small species covered with hair, and found on the shores of the Isle of Fiance. It is represented at Fig. 313.5. We now turn to species more terrestrial in their habits, and capable of living for a considerable time out of water, from which they often wander to great distances. To the groups which display these habits, may be referred the Thelphusians, certain fluviatile crabs, which Milne Edwards regards as constituting a link between the Cancerians and the true land-crabs. In general form they approach Eri- phia ; but they differ in habits, living in the earth about the banks of rivers, or in humid forests. Several species are known. The restricted genus Thelphusa is represented by a species well known in the South of Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Syria ; the Crabe fluviatile of Belon, Thelphusa fluviatilis. Fig. 3136. This species, which was well known to the an- cients, and is figured on many of the Sicilian and Grecian medals, is very common on the boidexs of the rivulets, streams, and lakes of the south of Italy, where it makes its burrows. The Greek monks, according to Cuvier, eat it raw, and during Lent it forms one of the dishes of the Italians. Its carapace is about two inches in diameter both transversely and longitudinally. The general colour is pale gray. The upper surface is smooth, with little fur- rows and asperities anteriorly along the sides. The claws are rough, of a reddish brown colour at the extremities; they are long, conical, and unequally dentated : a, the external jaw-foot. Other species are natives of India and Africa. An allied genus, Boscia, presents us with a species (the only one known) from the Antilles and South America. Like the Thelphusa, it is terrestrial, making burrows along the banks of rivers. M. Milne Edwards states that a dissection of an indi- vidual well preserved in spirit, by M. Audouin and himself, discovered to them a very remarkable dis- position of the branchial apparatus of this crustacean. The cavities which enclose the breathing organs are elevated far above the upper surface of the bran- chiae, and present a great vacant space, the walls of which are lined with a tomentose membrane, found to be covered with vegetation. The extensive branchial cavities are most probably intended in this crab for containing a due supply of water for laving the branchiae ; but with respect to the vege- tation noticed by MM. Milne Edwards and Audouin, it appears to us to have been accidental ; it is however an interesting circumstance, and one out of many examples in which parasitic vegetation has been found to become developed in or upon living animal bodies. Fi^. 3137 represents the Boscia dentata, about a third of the natural size. a, the antennary margin of the carapace ; h, the ex- ternal foot-jaw. We may now refer to a group of land-crabs termed Ocypodians, remarkable for their extreme rapidity, which is such, says Cuvier, that a horseman has some difficulty in overtaking them ; hence the term ' cavalier ' which the older naturalists applied to them. They live in burrows which they ex- cavate in the sand or along the margin of the shore. The carapace is rhomboidal and much elevated anteriorly. The eyes are long ; the cornea generally laige and transparent. The anterior limbs are ge- nerally very compressed, and of unequal size ; the rest are long, and often terminate in compressed points. In the restricted genus Ocypoda, the cornea is transparent and very large, of an oval figure, occu- pying at least the half of the length of the ocular peduncles, and commencing very near the base of those stems. The orbital furrows are very large, but not deep. In the male the difference in size be- tween the anterior or claw-iimbs of each side is very considerable ; in the female, it is less striking. The species are widely distributed. One, the Ocy- poda Hippea, inhabits the coasts of Syria, and tlie Mediterranean borders of Africa. It is distinguished by a tuft of hairs, which terminates the ocular pe- duncles. Other species are Indian and American. Fig. 3138 represents the Ocypoda arenaiia, or Sand Crab of Catesby ; a native of the coasts of North America and the Antilles, a, the under side of the head. The habitsof this species are very singular. During the whole of the summer months, it lives on the shore, excavating for itself a burrow three or four feet in depth, above the line of the highest tides or dash of the waves. In this retreat it secludes itself during the day, coming abroad on the approach of dusk to seek for food — it traverses the shore very nimbly, and when pursued darts away with great velocity, at the same time elevating its claws by way of menace. On the approach of winter, or towards the end of October, troops of these crabs leave the sea-side, and march inland, till, arriving at some suitable spot, they dig deep holes like those along the shore, for the purpose of hybernation. Into these they enter, stopping up the entrance with such address, that no trace of excavation is left. They then retire to the bottom, and remain quiescent, till the return of spring, when, animated by the warm weather, they emerge from their dormitories, retrace their steps to the sea-side, and set about re- pairing their old dwellings. Certain species of the genus Ocypoda, as we have said, carry a tuft of hairs at the extremity of their ocular peduncles ; others, an appendage in the form of a tubercle, cylinder, or stylet, which overpasses the transparent cornea. We mentioned the Ocy- poda hippea of Northern Africa as an example, its ocular peduncles being tufted. Fig. 3139 repre- sents this curious species, a, the claw ; h, the under surface of the male. The next genus of the Ocypodians is Gelasimu.s. In this form, the cornea is very small and rounded, and seated at the top of a long peduncle. In the femalesthe anterior or claw-limbs are very small, but in the males one is enormously developed, while the other remains undeveloped, being in fact shorter and more feeble than the succeeding limbs. It is some- times the light and sometimes the left of the anterior limbs which becomes enlarged, often indeed to such a magnitude as to make the body appear trifling in comparison. It appears that some of the species have at a certain age, if not always, a stylet at the extremity of the ocular peduncle, on the side of the great claw, whilst the eye on the side of the unde- veloped claw always retains its ordinary form. The Gelasimi are found in the warm countries of both hemispheres ; they live on the sea shore, or on the borders of saline marshes, and burrow deep cy- lindrical holes running obliquely downwards, and often so close together, and in such numbers, as to form a sort of crab-warren. Each burrow is tenanted by a pair of these crabs, and the male keeps guard, closing the entrance with its great claw. While running over the ground, these crustaceans usually keep the large claw elevated before the body, as if making a signal in order to call to some one, and from this habit they have obtained the name of callers or beckoners, 'Criibes appellants.' The spe- cies are very numerous, but like the Ocypoda they are diflicult to be distinguished, because the parts which differ the most, namely the front and the great claw, change their form with the progressive age of the animal. One species observed in South Carolina by M. Bosc, passes the three winter months in its retreat, and does not seek the water until the period of depositing its eggs. Fig. 3140 represents the Gelasimus annulipes from the Indian Seas, n, the under side of the head ; b, the abdomen ; c, one of the antennae. Fig. 3141 represents the Gelasimus Marionis, from Manilla. Like the species of the restricted genus Ocypoda, the Gelasimi are singularly rapid, traversing the shore with such celerity that it is by no means an easy thing to overtake them ; nor are they incapable of defence, as may be readily conceived from the magnitude of the great claw, which is extremely powerful, and well adapted for inflicting a severe gripe with the pincers, or even a lacerated wound, the serrations of the opposed edges being very sharp. We may now advance to a group of land crabs termed the Gecarcinians, known to the French unde- various names, as Toulouroux, CrSbes peints, ana Crabes violets, &c. The Gecarcinians are, as it would appear, even more exclusively terrestrial than the Ocypcidians, and so decidedly organized are the branchiae for aerial respiration, that if submerged for any length of time in the sea, the animals perish from suflb- SIN'— Ibelphui* flanataa. 3131,— Carapace of Etisns dentatus. SIK^— Ocypoda aieiwria. 3134.— Drania fainntiisiina. 313S.— Dynomene hiapida. 3130— Melia twaeUU. 3141.— Gelaaianit Marionia. 3133.— EthuaaUaicarcine. SlSt.— Ocypoda hippea. 3137v— Boacia deoWa. I a.t 3140. — Gelaaimus annuiipes. 304 3U4. — GecarctnusmricoI&, ^^o. 89. Vol. II. 3IS2.— Mycterli longiearpis. [THE MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE.] S153.— Doto sulcatiM. 305 306 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Land-cuabs. cation : nevertheless it is essential that the branc-hie be always kept moist, for death equally results from the desiccation of these organs. We have pre- viously alluded to the size of the branchial cavity in the Ocypodians, and in the present tribe the same confirmation exist*. This cavity on each side is not only very ample, being raised into a vault highly elevated above the branchi», but the tegumentary membrane which lines it is also very spongy, and is orten disposed into a sort of fold along the lower edge of the cavity, so a» to form a gutter or longi- tudinal trough for containing water when the animal remains exposed to the air. It has been shown by MM. Milne Edwards and Audouin (' De la Respira- tion aiiiienne des Crustaci-s, et dcs modifications que I'appareil branchial eprouve dans les Crabes ter- ^ resties';, that in all the Crustacea the branchise are fitted to perform the functions of respiratory organs in the air as well as in the water; that the more or less rapid death of the aquatic species when exposed to the air depends upon various causes, of which one of the most direct is the evaporation from the bran- chiae, and that, consequently, one of the conditions necessary to the support of life in animals which have branchise and live in the air, is that these organs be kept moist, and always defended from desiccation. In the land-crabs these arrangements and provisions are proved actually to occur. They possess various organs destined for absorbing and keeping in reserve the quantity of moisture neces- sary for supplying the branchiae with a due pro- portion of fluid : in fact, for maintaining them in working condition. The land-crabs are distributed through the warmer regions of the Old and New World, and Australasia, but the species are most numerous in America and its islands. In their descriptions, however, of the habits of these animals, the writers who supply us with the most interesting details, viz., De Labat, Sloane, Brown, Hughes, Catesby, &c. (' Nouveau Voyage aux Isles d'Am6rique ;' ' Natural History of Jamaica ; ' ' Civil and Natural History of Jamaica ;' 'Natural History of Barbadoes ; ' ' Natural History of Carolina '), seldom attend to the particular species, or enable us positively to identify that to which their details immediately refer. All the Gecarcinians, however, live mure or less inland, paying at stated periods a short visit to the sea, the females for the purpose of disencumbering them- selves of the eggs, which are carried under the ab- domen. On land they dwell in burrows, where they undergo the process of exuviation. Their history, says Latreille, in Cuvier's 'Regne Animal,' may be summed up as follows :— " They pass the greatest part of their life on land, hiding in burrows, whence they issue forth in the evening ; some take up their abode in graveyards. Once a year, when they would lay their eggs, they assemble in numerous troops, and take the shortest course to the sea, without being deterred by any obstacles which they may meet with on the road. After the deposition of the eggs, they return in a state of great debility. During the season of exuviation they block up, as is stated, the mouths of their burrows; whilst undergoing this process, and still soft, they are termed ' bour- siers,' or Purse-crabs, and their flesh is then held in high estimation; nevertheless it is sometimes deleterious. This quality is attributed to the fruit of the manchineel (mancenillier), of which it is supposed, perhaps without foundation, that they have eaten." We may here remark that these Boursiers, or land- crabs in a state of moult, and covered only by a soft membrane, must not be confounded with the Birgus Latro, or Robber Crab, a native of Amboyna, called by Humphius Cancer crumentatus, or Purse-crab, from its shape. It was from a confusion occasioned by this name of " Purse-crab," that Linnaeus assigned the Antilles as well as Amboyna as the locality of Birgus Latro (Cancer Latro). He gives Rochefort (' Hist. Nat. et Morale des Isles Antilles de I'Ame- rique," 4to., Rotterdam, 1681) as his authority, but the purse-crabs to which Rochefort alludes are the " Crabes peintes " during their state of moult. His words are:— What is most remarkable in these crabs is, that once a year, namely, after their return from their seaward journey, they all hide themselves in the ground for about six weeks, so that not one is to be seen. During this time they change their skin or shell, and entirely renew themselves. At this juncture they so neatly close the mouths of their burrows with earth, that no opening is per- ceptible; this they do to exclude the air, for when they thus cast off their old garment, their whole body is, as it were, naked, being only invested with a tender and delicate pellicle, which by degrees thickens and hardens into a crust, ac- cording in solidity to that which they have quitted. M. du Montel states that he has purposely directed the places to be dug up in which there was the appearance of these animals being concealed ; and having, in fact, found them, he remarked that they were enveloped in leaves, which, doubtless, served them both for food and a nest during their retirement, but they were so languishing, and so incapable of supporting the fresh air, that they appeared half dead, though otherwise they were fat and very dehcate eating. The inhabitants of the islands call them at that season "Crabes boursidres," purse-crabs, and greatly esteem them. Close to them he found their old slough, that is, their shell, which appeared as perfect as if the ani- mal were still within it; and strange it is that, although he used good eyes, scarcely could he dis- cover the opening or slit whence the body of the creature had emerged, and became freed from that prison. However, after very careful scrutiny, he remarked in these sloughs a little separation at the side of the tail, through which the crabs had extri- cated themselves. To return to the asserted poisonous quality of these crabs; though, perhaps, it may be attributed to a wrong cause, the fact itself is noticed by many writers. Sloane (' Nat. Hist, of Jamaica') observes that they are accounted poisonous when they feed on the mansanilla tree, which he thinks may arise from portions adhering about the mouth, or remain- ing still undigested in their stomach. Catesby, who says that some of these crabs are black, some yellow, some red, others variegated with yellow, white, and red, states that the black kind, in particular, are often noxious, and that the light-coloured kind are reckoned the best ; when in full flesh, very well tasted. He adds that they feed on vegetables. Hughes observes that the large white crab feeds on vegetables, and likewise upon manchineel apples, and the leaves and berries of poison-trees, and that after the latter food it is not to be eaten with safety. M. Milne Edwards in his account of these singular crabs remarks that they ordinarily haunt humid places, and hide themselves in burrows, which they excavate in the earth : each species, however, has its peculiar locality. Some, for example, live in the low marshy lands near the sea, others on the wooded hills at a distance fjom the shore. At certain epochs these last quit their habitual dwell- ings and journey to the sea ; it is, indeed, reported that they unite in great bands, and thus make way unimpeded by any obstacle, and laying waste everything in their course. Their principal food consists of vegetable substances, which they wander to procure during the hours of darkness ; and in the rainy season in particular quit their burrows, and may be seen running along with great rapidity. It would appear that at the time of laying they go to the sea, and there deposit their eggs, but, he adds, we have no decided information on this point. During their moult they remain hidden in their burrows. In our introductory observations on the Crustacea, we stated that, according to Mr. Thompson, the young undergo certain transformations before as- suming their permanent form. It was on the eggs, and young just hatched, of one of the West Indian Gecarcinians, in the collection of the late Rev. Lansdown Guilding, that Mr. Westwood made his observations (published in the 'Phil. Trans.,' 1835), proving that, in the species at least which he ex- amined, no such metamorphosis takes place. The first genus to be noticed of this tribe is that termed U^a by Latreille. One species U9a Una (Cancer cordatus and Cancer U?a, Linn.), is repre- sented at Fig. 3142. It inhabits the marshy grounds of Guiana and Brazil. The claw-limbs are spiny ; the other limbs hairy below. Its manners are not well known. Another genus is termed Cardisoma ; to this be- long the white crabs of the Antilles, so called in contradistinction to the dark or black, for the shell is yellowish with stains of red. The species give preference to woods, digging deep holes, and wan- dering abroad at night. As an example we refer to Cardisoma carnifex. Fig. 3143. This crab is found in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry. We know not whether it is to this genus or not that a sin- gular land-crab belongs observed in India by the late Bishop Heber, living, to his surprise, a great distance from the sea. "The plain of Poonah," he says, " is very bare of trees, and though there are some gardens immediately around the city, yet as both these and the city itself lie in a small hollow on the banks of the river Moola, they are not suf- ficiently conspicuous to interrupt the general cha- racter of nakedness in the picture, any more than the few young trees and ornamented shrubs with which the bungalows of the cantonment are inter- mingled. The principal and most pleasing feature is a small hill immediately over the town, with a temple of the goddess Parvation its summit, and a large tank, which, when I saw it, was neariy dry at its base. All the grass-land round this tank, and generally through the Deccan, swarms with a small land-crab, which burrows in the ground, and runs with considerable swiftness, even when encumbered with a bundle of food almost as big as itself. This food is grass, or the green stalks of rice : and it is amusing to see them sitting, as it were upright, to cut their hay with their sharp pincers, then waddling oif with the sheaf to their holes, as fast as their sidelong pace will carry them." Instead of going to the sea in order to deposit their eggs, may not these crabs resort to the tanks and rivers of the country, and may not the species belong to the fluviatile Thelphusians? Of this group, in- deed, Leschenault discovered a species in the moun- tains of Ceylon ; and another, the Cancer senex'of Herbert, also inhabits the East Indies. If, however, this little crab be a true Gecarcinian, we see no reason why it should not be a visitant to fresh instead of saline waters. We pass to the restricted genus Gecarciniis, of which the Black or Mountain crab, the Violet crab, or Toulourou, Gecarcinus ruricola, Fig. 3144, is an example. '•These creatures," says Brown ('Civil and Natural History of Jamaica') " are very numerous in some parts of Jamaica, as well as in the neigh- bouring islands, and on the coast of the main con- tinent ; they are generally of a dark purple colour, but this often varies, and you frequently find them spotted, or entirely of another hue. They live chiefly on dry land, and at a considerable distance from the sea, which, however, they visit once a year to wash off their spawn, and afterwards return to the woods and higher lands, where they con- tinue for the remaining part of the season ; nor do the young ones ever fail to follow them as soon as they are able to crawl. The old crabs gene- rally regain their habitations in the mountains, which are seldom within less than a mile and not often above three from the shore, by the latter end of June, and then provide themselves with conve- nient burrows, in which they pass the greatest part of the day, going out only at night to feed. In December and January they begin to be in spawn, and are then very fat and delicate, but continue to grow richer until the month of May, which is the season for them to wash oft' their eggs. They begin to move down in February, and are very much abroad in March and April, which seems to be the time for the impregnation of their eggs ; the males about this time begin to lose their flavour and richness of their juices. The eggs as they pass are entangled in the branchial capillaments, with which the under side of the apron is copiously supplied, to which they stick by the means of their proper gluten, until the creatures reach the surf, where they wash them all olF, and then thev begin to return back again to the mountains. It is re- markable that the bag or stomach* of this creature changes its juices with the state of the body ; and while poor is full of a black, bitter, disagreeable fluid, which diminishes as it I'altens, and at length acquires a delicate rich flavour. About the month of July or August the crabs fatten again and prepare for mouldering, filling up their burrows with dry grass, leaves, and abundance of other materials : when the proper period comes, each retires to his hole, shuts up the passage, and remains quite inac- tive until he gets rid of his old shell and is fully provided with a new one. How long they continue in this state is uncertain, but the shell is observed to burst both at the back and sides to give a pass- age to the body, and it extracts its limbs from all the other parts gradually afterward. At this time the fish is in the richest state, and covered only with a tender membranous skin, variegated with a multi- tude of reddish veins ; but this hardens gradually after, and becomes soon a perfect shell like the former ; it is, however, remarkable that during this change there are some stony concretions always formed in the bag, which waste and dissolve gra- dually as the creature forms and perfects its new crust. A wonderful mechanism ! This crab runs very fast, and always endeavours to get into some hole or crevice on the approach of danger ; nor does it wholly depend on its art and swiftness, for while it retreats it keeps both claws expanded, ready to catch the oft'ender if he should come within its reach, and if it succeeds on these occasions it com- monly throws off the claw, which continues to squeeze with incredible force for near a minute after ; while he, regardless of the loss, endeavours to make his escape and to gain a more secure or a more lonely covert, contented to renew his limb with his coat at the ensuing change ; nor would it grudge to lose many of the others to preserve the trunk entire, though each comes off' with more labour and re- luctance as their numbers lessen." As an article of food this species is highly prized in the West Indies, and consequently in great de- mand. Brown says that the black crab, when fat, and in a perfect state, surpasses everything of the sort in flavour and delicacy; it frequently joins a little of the bitter with its native richness, which renders it not only more agreeable in general, but makes it sit extremely easy upon the stomach, • Query — Is the liver not meant here ? Sea-Spiders.] MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 307 They are frequently boiled and served up whole, but are commonly stewed when served up at the more sumptuous tables. We believe that when simply cooked in its own juices, in its shell, a squeeze of lime-juice is all that it requires to render it delicious. We do not see why these land-crabs may not with proper care be as regularly sent to our metropolis as turtle ; surely they would not be unworthy the epuUe adjicicdes of the City. The ad- juncts may be the same as to Whitebait. But we must leave these crabs, so valued by the Transatlantic epicurean, for others. Between the Oeypodians and Grapsoideans, ac- cording to Milne Edwards, intervenes a tribe termed Gonoplaceans, having the carapace square or rhom- boidal, and wider than it is long. The ocular pe- duncles a'-e generally much elongated, and the eye, which terminates them, is small. To this tribe be- longs the genus Gonoplax, in which the anterior pair of limbs are extremely elongated, and nearly cylindrical, appearing indeed far too much deve- loped in comparison with the small square carapace between them at their base. The animals are marine. The Gonoplax rhomboides, Fig. 3145, is a native of the Mediterranean and the ocean ; it keeps among rocks at considerable depths, and appears to be soli- tary. It possesses considerable powers of swimming, and often rises to the surface of the water, but never comes on shore. Its length is about an inch (that is, of the carapace) ; and its colour yellowish min- gled with red. Small fish and radiated animals con- stitute its food. The Grapsoideans are less regularly quadrilateral than the Gonoplaceans, and the body is nearly always compressed ; the ocular peduncles are thick, but short, and the eye occupies half their length. The anterior limbs are in general short, and the rest are very much compressed, the last pair sometimes assuming the natatory character. As far as their habits appear to be known, these crabs live much on the shore, or on the rocks bordering the coast, and on reefs of coral ; ihey are very timid, and run with great alacrity. The (jenus Grapsus contains those species re- markable lor the extreme flatness of the body. The first pair of limbs are very short and spiny ; the re- maining limbs very much compressed, with the tar- sal portion large, broad, and spiny. One species, the Grapsus pictus, Fig. 3146, is very beautifully marked ; it is of a reddish colour with irregular and waved stains of yellow ; length about two inches. It is a native of the Antilles, and is not uncommon in collections. The species of the genus Grapsus are widely spread. These animals, says Latreille, " conceal themselves during the day under stones and other bodies in the sea ; some, even, as I have been in- formed, climb on the trees of the shore, and creep under the bark ; the broad and flattened form of the body and limbs gives them the faculty of sustaining themselves for an instant on the surface of the water; their progress on land is sideways, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left. Certain species live in rivers where the tide comes in, but mostly on the borders of the water. They associate in considerable numbers, and on the appearance of any one betake themselves to the water, making a great noise with their claws, which they strike against each other. In general respects their mode of life resembles that of other Carnivorous Crustacea." From the genus Grapsus have been separated several subgenera, among which we may notice Pseudograpsus, in which the jaw-feet close the mouth, contrarj' to what is found in Grapsus — of this form the Porte-pinceau (Grapsus penciliger). Fig. 3147, is an example. It is remarkable for the size of the claws in the male, and the tufts of long hairs which spring from them. The other limbs are fur- nished with thickset down. This crab is found in the seas of Asia. Another subgenus is termed Plagusia. It is distin- guished from Grapsus by the internal antennae being bent back under the front and lodged in a deep notch so as to be uncovered above. The body and imbs are flattened. As an example we select the Plagusia clavimana (Cancer planissimus). Fig. 3148, a native of the shores of New Holland, New Zealand, Vanicoro, &c. We now turn to a group of small crustaceans termed Pinnotherians, remarkable for their singular habits; they live housed between the mantle lobes of bivalve mollusks, as mussels. Pinnae, &c., and were well known to the ancients, who have dis- tinctly alluded to them, under the names of ttiv- vorrifni^, irii/yo97)jov\ai '' i" Latin, Pinnotheras and Pmnophylax. They believed that a sort of part- nership existed between these little crabs and the shell-fish, and that when the latter lay with the valves open, as a trap for prey, the crab gave notice to it when to close them upon its captive, after which they commenced the feast at leisure. Pliny describes the Pinnotheras as tenanting the empty shells of oysters ; and in another place speaks of it Vot. II. as residing in the shell of the Pinna ; but it is pro- bable that under the same names he refers to two different crustaceans. Hasselquist, the pupil and friend of Linnaeus, in a letter to his great preceptor, dated Smyrna, De- cember 16, 1749, gives another version of the services rendered by the Pinnotheres to the Pinna. " The time I have been here," he says, " has afforded me an opportunity of seeing the kinds both of fish and shell-fish which the Greeks use during their Lent. No people, 1 believe, make so much use of shell-fish and other marine animals as do the Greeks. I have seen them eat ten different sorts of shell-fish, when with us oysters only are eaten. Amongst other ani- mals they sell here a sepia or cuttle-fish, which is by them called oktwitiJSio (Octopodia); it has only eight tentacula, all of equal length ; and the ani- mal is a foot long and thick in proportion. Of this the Greeks have related to me an anecdote which I think remarkable. The Pinna muricata, or great silk-mussel, is here found in large quantities at the bottom of the sea; and is a foot in length. The octopodia, or cuttle-fish with eight arms, watches the opportunity when the mussel opens its shell, to creep in it and devour the contents ; but a little crab which has scarcely any shell, or at least only a thin one, lodges constantly in this shell fish, and pays a good rent by saving the life of its landlady. This crab keeps a constant look-out through the aperture of the shell, and on seeing the approach of the enemy begins to stir, when the Pinna closes the valves and thus excludes the rapacious animal. I saw this shell-fish first at the island of Milo, and found such a little crab in all I opened ; I wondered not a little what was its business there, but on com- ing here, the circumstances were explained to me by M. Juste, the secretary of our consul, a curious and ingenious man who has travelled much, and lived long in this place. The account was afterwards con- firmed by several Greeks, who daily catch and eat both these animals." The Pinnotherians are of small size, with a cara- pace nearly circular, with small and feeble limbs ; the eyes are minute, on abbreviated peduncles. In the restricted genus Pinnotheres, the parts of the mouth are developed ; the external jaw-feet are placed obliquely, and the third joint enlarged. Fig. 3149 represents the under side of the anterior part of Pinnotheres, displaying the eyes, jaw-feet, &c.. magnified. One species of Pinnotheres, the Pea-crab (P. Pisum% is very common in mussels on our coast. According to Mr. Thompson, it resembles Zoea in the early stages of its existence, having an elongated abdomen terminated by a fin, a carapace armed with three long spines, large eyes, and swimming feet. Another species, the Pinnotheres veterum. Fig. 3150, is found in the Pinnae, on the coasts of Greece and Italy. It measures about eight lines in length. To the present group the genus Hymenosoma ap- pears to be referable. The carapace is flattened and nearly circular, with a narrow front. The fore-limbs are small, the others slender but rather elongated. Fig. 3151 represents the Hymenosoma orbiculare, from the Cape of Good Hope. It measures an inch in length ; two spiniform processes project anteriorly from the carapace, one on each side of the eyes : a, internal antenna ; b, external antenna ; c, external jaw-foot ; d, abdomen of male ; e, abdomen of female. Between Pinnotheres and Ocypodes, according to Milne Edwards, may be placed the genus Mycteris, characterized by the carapace being very delicate, nearly circular, and convex. The external jaw-feet are placed vertically, and form by their union a short and wide reversed cone ; the limbs are long and slender. Fig. 3152 represents the Mycteris longi- carpis, from the Australian Seas. The carapace is divided by furrows into three longitudinal tumuli, and projects anteriorly. Length about one inch. A closely allied form has been characterized by Milne Edwards under the generic title of Doto. It approximates in the general form of the body, feet, and eyes, to the Ocypodes, but in some other points to Mycteris. The species on which this genus is founded is figured by Savigny in the great work on Egypt ; it is the Mycteris sulcatus of Aiidouin, Cancer sulcatus of Forsk, and Doto sulcatus of Milne Edwards. The carapace is nearly square, and furrowed above ; the front orbital border occupying nearly the whole of its width. The region around the mouth, and the external jaw-feet, equally furrowed ; feet, rather long and compressed, length six lines. It is a native of the Red Sea. Fig. 3153 represents this crab mag- nified ; a, a profile still more enlarged, without the legs, to show the grooves ; b, a view of the under part of the carapace. An extensive group of crabs, distinguished by the projection and acuteness of the anterior part of the carapace so as to form a snout, has been termed by Milne Edwards Oxyrhynchi. This group contains several tribes, of which one is the Macropodian ; the species being remarkable for the enormous length of their limbs, which has obtained for them the name of Sea Spiders. The form of the carapace is various, but in general triangular ; the anterior limbs are feeble, slender, and shorter than the rest which are more or less filiform ; the basal joint of the external antennse nearly always constitutes the major part of the lower wall of the orbit, and (iroceeds to solder itself to the front. The Macropodians inhabit the sea at con- siderable depths, where they lie concealed among the fronds of sea-weed ; they are also found on oyster-banks; from the length and slenderness of their limbs they proceed slowly and unsteadily. Their food consists of minute molluisks and other sort marine animals. The first genus we shall notice is Leptopodia of Leach, remarkable for the excessive elongation of the limbs, and the manner in which the carapace is carried out anteriorily into a long styliform snout or rostrum. The eyes are compara- tively large, and not retractile. The species are found on the coasts of America and the Antilles. As an example of this genus we select the Lepto- podia sagittaria (Cancer seticornis, Herbst ; Trachus Sagittarius, Fabricius). It is represented at Fig. 3154. In this species we have, as it were, in an exaggerated manner, all the distinctive character of the great group or family and tribe to which it belongs. Another genus, the species of which are found in the European Seas, is termed Stenorhynchus. In this the rostrum is projecting, bifid, and sharp : the eyes are not retractile; the fore-limbs are much stouter than the others, which are long and filiform. Fig. 3155 represents the Stenorhynchus phalan- gium (Cancer phalangium, Pennant ; Cancer ro- stratus, Linn. ; Macropus phalangium, Latreille ; Macropodia phalangium. Leach), "it is a native of the coasts on each side of the English channel, and of the other seas of Europe. In the seas of Asia are found various species of a genus termed Camposcia. In this the rostrum ad- vances but little beyond the eyes, which are sup- ported upon peduncles and not retractile, though capable of being reflected backwards. The carapace is convex and pear-shaped ; the feet are slender. Fig. 3156 represents the Camposcia retusa; a, a view of the under surface of the head, showing the details of the eyes, antennae, and mouth. The genus Eurypodius is also found in the Asiatic Seas. In this the rostrum is formed by tvvo long and horizontal horns; in the male the anterior limbs are as long as the body, but shorter in the female. The succeeding limbs are long and slender, and their terminal joint is curved and very sharp, and capable of being bent back against the lower edge of the preceding joint, so as to give to the animal the power of attaching itself firmly to any object. Fig. 3157 represents the Eurypodius Latreillii ; it is found on the shores of the Falkland Islands. The genus Inachus as restricted by modern writers may hero be noticed ; it contains several small species natives of the seas of Europe, and found more particularly on the coasts of England and France. They haunt bays and coves, where beds of oysters exist, and all have the body and limbs covered with down and hairs ; small sponges and corallines are often found attached to them. The rostrum is short ; the eyes are on peduncles capable of being reflected backwards and lodged in an orbitary cavity, which though not deep is distinct. The anterior limbs are stout and large in the male, very small in the female ; the second pair are the longest. The carapace is triangular and much embossed above : the general colour is brownish. Fig. 3158 represents the Inachus Scorpio, a native of the British Channel, &c. : a, the male ; b, the female ; c, the abdomen of the male ; d, the abdomen of the mature female ; e, the abdomen of the im- mature female. Among several other genera belong- ing to this tribe, as Latreillia, Achaeus, Amathia, &c., we may select for notice that termed by Dr. Leach Doclea. In this form the carapace is nearly globular, hairy, and more or less beset with spines ; the rostrum is short and narrow ; the eyes are very small, and en- tirely lodged on the orbits. The anterior limbs are very small and feeble; the succeeding limbs long. The species are found, as far as yet ascertained, in the Indian seas. Fig. 3159 represents the Doclea Rissonii. According to Milne Edwards it forms a passage to the tribe of Maiians, or Maiidae. The tribe of Maiians, or Maiidae, is composed of Oxyrhynchi, whose carapace is mostly spiny, and generally speaking longer than it is wide ; the ros- trum is usually bifid, or composed of two horns. In the males, the first pair of limbs are longer and more robust than the second pair ; but in the females they do not exceed, and sometimes do not equal, the second pair. The succeeding feet are of moderate length. The first genus of this tribe which we notice is that termed Libinia by Leach: the carapace is nearly circular, and very convex above, the eyes are 2 R2 SliT.— Cnrypodiiu LitnllUt Sies. — NaxU seipulitan. 3iei.— Ilcrbslia coiiJ>lia'»- SOS 316ff. ^Chorinus Hero*. 3l70.--^riocarcinus suporciliostis. 3lfi3.— Lissa cltiragnu 309 310 MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. [Maiians. •mail and short, the orbits circular ; the rostrum is small, and notched, or bifid. The anterior limbs, longer than in Doclea, are less developed than in some of the following genera. The species, as far as known, are all natives of the seas of America. Fig. 3160 represents the Libinia spinosa, from the coasts of Brazil, a, the under side of the head in detail ; b, the abdomen of the female. The next genus is Herbstia, which has the cara- pace more triangular than Libinia. The rostrum is short and bitid, the orbits oval ; the eyes large and retractile. The fore-limbs in the male are long and •tout, exceeding the second pair, which in the fe- male they only equal. One species only is known, Herbstia' con'dyliata (Fig. 3161). This singular crab is a native of the Mediterranean ; it is about two inches in length, has the body covered with fine down, and is of a reddish colour. The genus Pisa here comes in. In this form the rostrum projects considerably, and is bifid, and at its base are two other and shorter spines, one on each side occupying the anterior part of the orbital border. The eyes are carried on short peduncles, and bent backwards in the orbits, which are of an oval shape, and directed outwards and downwards. In the male the anterior limbs are long and stout, exceeding the second pair in length, but only equal- ling them in the female. The claws are finely den- tilated on their terminal portion. Of the succeeding limbs the last joint is regularly pectinated with horny points. Some species have spiniforra teeth on the third and fourth joints of the four last pairs of limbs. Among these is the Pisa tetraodon (Fig. 3162). This species is common on the English and French coasts, living at considerable depths, and oflen dredged up by fishermen. After spring-tides- they are frequently found hidden under stones at low water. The length is three inches ; the body is entirely covered with down and some crooked hairs. 6eneral colour brown. The difference which exists between the male and female will be at once appreciated by referring to our pictorial specimens : a, the male ; 4, the female ; c, abdomen of female ; d, abdomen of male ; e, antenna ; /, pe- dipalp, or jaw-foot. It has been observed that the Pisae are covered with hairs, which are recurved at the end, and are hence apt to catch up foreign bodies, as the fibres of delicate seaweeds, sponges, &c., with which the body becomes as it were veiled ; it is very probable that, thus disguised, they are the better enabled to surprise their prey, and to escape the observations of their numerous enemies. Closely allied to Pisa is the genus Lissa of Dr. Leach, the principal distinguishing character con- I 8isting in the disposition of the rostrum, which is formed of two lamellose horns, truncated and wider anteriorly than at the base. There are no spines on the limbs. Fig. 3163 represents the Lissa chiragra, so called from the singular swellings and tuberosi- ties with which it is covered, especially on the limbs, and which suggested the term chiragra (gouty on the hands). It is a native of the Mediterranean, but is occasionally found more northward, and said to have been taken on the coast of Cornwall. Re- ferring to Fig. 3163, a is the abdomen of the female ; 6, the abdomen of the male ; c, one of the antennse. Another closely allied form is that termed by Dr. Leach, Hyas. The first joint of the external an- tennee is flattened instead of being cylindrical ; the rostrum is bifid, each part being acute ; the orbits are directed somewhat forwards. We select as an example the Hyas coarctata. Fig. 3164. This crab IS found in the British Channel, and is about two inches in length. The carapace is strongly contracted (coarctate) beneath the external orbital angles. The general colour is reddish. The differ- ences between the male and female may be easily appreciated by referring to the pictorial specimens : a, the male ; b, the female. M. Milne Edwards describes a genus under the name of Naxia, which he regards as nearly related to the genera Pisa and Lissa, but to be distinguished by the disposition of the antennae and orbits ; the rostrum closely resembles that of Lissa. The orbits are small, nearly circular, deep, and marked with a fissure above and below, but without any hiatus at their inferior border. The basal joint of the ex- ternal antennse is wide, narrowing forwards, and hidden beneath the rostrum. Fig. 3165 represents Naxia serpulifera, one third its natural size, a, the under side of the head in detail ; b, one of the protruding parts of the rostrum with the eye in profile ; c, abdomen of female. This species is a native of the shores of New Hol- land, and is about four inches in length. The body is invested with brownish downy hairs, and the cara- pace is often encrusted with serpulae, flustrsB, sponges, &c. Another remarkable genus of the Maiians is Chorinus (Leach). The rostrum consists of two large pointed horizontal horns ; the eyes are reti-ac- tile, and the orbits directed downwards. The ante- rior limbs are long, especially in the males ; and the claw strongly curved inwards, dentilated, and pointed. The succeeding limbs are cylindrical ; those next ifi the claw-limbs being of great length in the male. Fig. 3166 represents the Chorinus Heros, one-half I of the natural size. It varies in length from two l' to three inches, or rather more. Colour, yellowish red ; rostrum, sides of carapace, and four last limbs hairy. The singular genus Mithrax (Leach) here requires notice. The carapace is rather convex above, and narrowed anteriorly ; the rostrum is short and bifid ; the orbits are armed at their superior border with two or three spines, one at their external angle, and one or two at their inferior border ; the margin of the carapace anteriorly is spiny. Anterior limbs generally rather robust in the male. The species of this genus are mostly limited to the seas of America, and some attain to considerable dimensions. We select as an example a species from the coasts of the Balearic Islands, viz., Mithrax dichotomus. Fig. 3167. It measures about two inches in length, and is of a yellowish colour. An allied genus (Parami- thrax) is distributed through the Australasian Seas. The genus Maia next succeeds. The carapace is rough with multitudinous spines and tubercles ; the rostrum is horizontal and bifid, each branch diverg- ing ; the orbits are oval and deep. The anterior limbs are moderate, and somewhat cylindrical. The second joint of the lateral antennae seems to spring from the internal angle of the orbitar cavity. Ge- neral figure oval. The Maia Squinado, common on our coasts and those of Europe, has been known from a remote pe- riod, and was figured on coins and medals. The ancients attributed to it great sagacity, and believed it sensible to the charms of music. As an emblem of wisdom, it was sculptured suspended from the neck of Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians. Fig. 3168 represents this species, which attains to a considerable size. It is often dredged up in the British Channel, but it is not in any request as an article of food, though the fishermen sometimes eat it. Referring to Fig. 3168, b represents a young fe- male ; c, abdomen of female ; d, abdomen of male ; e, one of the antennae ; /, pedipalp. Passing from form to form, we pause to notice a genus, Micippa (Leach), which at first seems far removed from those around it. The carapace is not narrowed anteriorly, and appears as if truncate at its margin ; if, how- ever, we look underneath, we find a lamellose ros- trum directed vertically downwards, so as to form a right angle with the axis of the body ; on the sides of this rostrum are placed the orbits, fissured above. The ocular peduncles are retractile ; the sides of the carapace are spined ; the limbs are moderate, the first pair small ; the external antennae are large. The species are found in the Indian Seas, and about the coasts of the Isle of France. Fig. 3169 repre- sents the Micippa Philyra. It is about two inches in length. Equally remarkable is the genus Crio- carcinus (Gm'rin), the upper outline of which may be more readily understood by referring to our pic- torial specimen, Fig. 3170, than by mere description : anteriorly the carapace pushes out into a bifid ros- trum, each part taking an outward cui-ve ; from each side of the head stands out a toothed process, at least in the example selected ; the sides are opened, and the posterior margin terminates in an acute pro- jection. The orbitar cavities are nearly in the form of a long and truncated tube directed outwards ; but they do not sheath the eyes, which terminate each a long slender peduncle, inserted so as to be completely exposed and capable of reflection back- wards, when it is concealed under the orbital pro- jection of the carapace. The Criocarcinus superciliosus (Fig. 3170) is of small size, being about an inch and a half in length. Its exact locality is not ascertained. Among the strange forms of this curious tribe is the genus Pericera. The rostrum branches out into two spines, and similar though smaller spines are ranged along each side. The orbits are circular, small, and deep, and sheath the ocular peduncles. The basal joint of the external antennae is very large. The anterior limbs are cylindrical. The species, as far as ascertained, are natives of the seas of the Antilles. Fig. 3171 represents the Pericera cornuta (Cancer cornudo, Herbert ; the horned crab of Hughes). It is from three to four inches long, and covered with a plush of brownish hairs. Immediately related to the preceding is the ge- nus Stenocinops. The rostrum consists of two long horns, and a similar horn projects over each orbit. The ocular stems are long, delicate, and immoveable. The limbs are slender. The carapace projects pos- teriorly. Fig. 3172 represents the female of Steno- cinops cervicornis, the only known species. It is a native of the coasts of the Isle of France, a shows the under side in detail ; b, the termination of one of the first pair of feet ; c, the termination of one oi the succeeding feet. A genus termed Halimus by Latreille now follows. It is characterized, he says, by the peduncles of the eyes being retractile within the orbits (lbs.settes), and protected behind by a tooth-like process or angle of the lateral borders of the carapace. The second joint of the external antenna; is longer than the following, and they are terminated by a short stem. To this we may add that the rostrum pro- jects in the form of two divergent horns. The spe- cies are natives of the Indian Seas. We select as an example the Halimus .'\ries (Fig. 3173). It is about an inch in length, a shows the under surface of the head in detail ; b. the eye, orbit, and spinous protection ; c, one of the jaw-!eet. .'Another genus referable to this tribe is Acanthonyx (Latreille). In many points it approaches Halimus. The orbits are circular, the rostrum bifid. Of the four posterior pair of limbs, the penultimate joint is enlarged, and notched near the end with a Itairv tooth, against which the last joint, in the form of a sharp hooked claw, can be bent back for the pur- pose of clinging. The species are widely spread ; some are found in the Mediterranean, others in seas of South Africa, and othew on the coasts of the .\n- tilles. The Acanthonyx lunulatus frequents the coast of Provence and the Bay of Naples, inhabiting the crevices of rocks covered with fronds of seaweed. It is scarcely an inch in length. It is represented at Fig. 3174. «, the head in detail, viewed from beneath : b, the eye ; c, the termination of one of the second pair of limbs ; 187,-CiaaFp» taberenlata. 3180^— Earyonome upera. 31>V<—